Zoé Pochon

An undisturbed seventeenth-century shipwreck is a time capsule offering a chance to encounter people of the past mid-step. For maritime archaeologist Niklas Eriksson the underwater world is an archaeological treasure trove rich in stories of everyday life from centuries ago
www.su.se/english/news...

We have a new preprint! - "Ancient Pathogen Genomics in Africa – Current Evidence and Future Directions"

A review of current evidence, challenges, and opportunities for studying past epidemics and host–pathogen evolution using ancient DNA from African contexts.

www.preprints.org/manuscript/2...

Job alert: open position for a Professor or Associate Professor of Computational Genomics in Health and Disease at University College London.

Based in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment of UCL, and UGI, and funded by the UCL Health Strategy.

www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... 🧪

Really happy to share our new preprint on the co-occurrance of Y.pestis and Erysipelothrix spp. during prehistory. 🔥🔥🔥
In the study, we find the earliest evidence to date of Y.pestis in Southern Europe and 60 new Erysipelothrix genomes spanning 20k years 🦠🐄🚶‍♂️⌛
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Fast-spreading measles outbreak takes hold among under-10s in north London UK Health Security Agency urges parents in Enfield to get their children vaccinated as Easter holiday travels approach

This is really not a headline I expected to have to read in 2026.

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

🚨 Save the Date!

We’re thrilled to announce #SPAAM8 – a gathering of experts in ancient metagenomics research! 🌎

📅 When: June 22nd 2026
📍Where: Stockholm, Sweden 🇸🇪 (and online)
Stay tuned for updates and registration details!

Assessing Ancient DNA Sampling Strategies for Natural Selection Inference in Humans Using Allele Frequency Time Series Data Abstract. The increased availability of genomic data from ancient humans allows estimating the strength of natural selection at a given locus using time se

Interested in using aDNA time-series datasets to estimate selection?

Our study "Assessing Ancient DNA Sampling Strategies for Natural Selection Inference in Humans Using Allele Frequency Time Series Data" is now out in GBE! doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... @genomebiolevol.bsky.social @cegamorim.bsky.social

Great news from our research group! 🎉 We congratulate Mustafa Özkan, Kıvılcım Başak Vural, Ezgi Altınışık, and Duygu Deniz Kazancı, who have received significant support for their projects in recent months! 👏
Details below 👇
#Hacettepe #METU #AncientDNA #aDNA #TUBITAK

📢 We're hiring a postdoc (33 months) in human evolutionary genomics / paleogenomics / statistical genetics, Paris 🇫🇷
Project on selection on disease-associated variants, integrating ancient genomes, GWAS, and Ancestral Rec. Graphs.
Start May 2026 (flexible).
Apply here: emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...

Institut Pasteur (@pasteur.fr) is recruiting new young PIs to open new groups in the Institute. Deadline is February 9th! Don't miss the opportunity!

Out in @science.org today:

A 5500-year-old Treponema pallidum genome from Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia

Huge congrats to @davidebozzi.bsky.social Naz, Miguel, Lars, Anna, and Betsy for the amazing work. It’s an honor to collaborate with you.

A 5500-year-old Treponema pallidum genome from Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia Treponematosis, a bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies and T. carateum (yaws, bejel, syphilis, pinta), has afflicted humans for millennia. Despite paleopathological evidence and...

Treponemal diseases might have been with us much longer than previously thought! In our recent study, we used ancient DNA to reconstruct a 5,500-year-old 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘮 genome, revealing a previously unknown divergent subspecies.
You can check it out here:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Fascinating that the #NobelPeaceCenter felt the need to clarify this today.

Someone clearly needed the memo.

So proud that this is out 🐺⏳🧬🦏. First paper as a senior author (co-shared with @lovedalen.bsky.social; thanks for a great opportunity) and led by my awesome former MSc student @solveiggudjonsd.bsky.social and a brilliant CPG postdoc @edanalord.bsky.social (1/n)

OA: academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Read our new paper in Genome Biology & Evolution to learn more about how sequencing the genome from a 14,000 year old wolf puppy's last meal yielded novel insights into the woolly rhino's extinction:
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

📷 Mietje Germonpré

A trunkload of ancient RNA Ancient DNA has become a workhorse for evolutionary biologists. In contrast, ancient RNA studies have been rare and often methodologically controversial. Mármol-Sánchez et al. provide compelling evide...

Thanks to Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer (@scs22.bsky.social) and Carles Lalueza-Fox for their commentary on our work about ancient RNAs in the extinct wolly mammoth

A trunkload of ancient RNA

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Researchers recover a woolly rhino genome from inside a frozen wolf's stomach The work marks the first time an Ice Age animal’s complete genome has been recovered from tissue preserved inside another ancient animal.

Researchers recover a woolly rhino genome from inside a frozen wolf's stomach. The work marks the first time an Ice Age animal’s complete genome has been recovered from tissue preserved inside another ancient animal.
New study from @cpgsthlm.bsky.social
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

GBE | Genome Shows no Recent Inbreeding in Near-Extinction Woolly Rhinoceros Sample Found in Ancient Wolf's Stomach Autopsy of Tumat The autopsy of the Tumat-1 wolf puppy, when a fragment of a woolly rhinoceros tissue was found in the stomach. Coauthors Sergey Fedorov and Mikkel Sinding are shown. Location: Vienna, Austria. Date: 2018. Photo credit: Mietje Germonpré.

Guðjónsdóttir, @jcchacond.bsky.social et al. sequenced the genome of a >14kya old woolly rhino from muscle found inside a permafrost-preserved wolf's stomach. Demographic inference suggests a rapid extinction for the woolly rhino.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf239

#genome #evolution #aDNA

CarpeDeam: a de novo metagenome assembler for heavily damaged ancient datasets - Genome Biology De novo assembly of ancient metagenomic datasets is a challenging task. Ultra-short fragment size and characteristic postmortem damage patterns of sequenced ancient DNA molecules leave current tools…

Dreaming of a de novo assembly of your pesky short ancient sequences? 🧬 A new tool, CarpeDeam, may just help your dreams come true. 🧬🖥️
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#MetagenomicsMonday #ancientDNA #aDNA #paleogenomics #bioinformatics

Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA First ancient HHV-6 genomes reveal 2500 years of phylogenetic continuity and provide insights into the endogenization of HHV-6A.

Our paper on the first ancient Human betaherpesvirus 6 A/B (HHV-6) genomes is published in Science Advances! 🥳

In collaboration with @virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social @lucyvandorp.bsky.social @lehtisaag.bsky.social @ktambets.bsky.social & other amazing researchers!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever in 1812 Napoleon's devastated army During Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in 1812,1 countless soldiers of the French army succumbed to infectious diseases, but the responsible pathogen o…

What really devastated Napoleon’s army in 1812? ⚔️🧬 A new study uncovers DNA of previously unsuspected pathogens: Salmonella Paratyphi C and Borrelia recurrentis in the teeth of fallen soldiers.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #pathogens #fever #Napoleon

We have opened Early Bird registration for #ICP2026 🚨

And you REALLY want to register early, since it's cheaper 🤑 and the (free) conference dinner at the Town Hall (the same venue as the Nobel banquet) has limited places.

Looking forward to welcoming you next summer in Stockholm!

Cool project name! Congrats again 🎉

WOW❗🤯

The amount and quality of the abstracts we've received have completely blown us away! More than 300 abstracts from researchers at all levels and from 33 countries.

We will communicate the selected talks and open registration soon 👉 icp2026.palaeogenomics.org

#ICP2026 will be UNMISSABLE 😍💪

Paleogenomics Reveals a Loss of Bovine Lineages in Mid-latitude Asia Over the Last 200,000 Years Abstract. Bovines have a complex yet poorly understood evolutionary history that is characterized by admixture and diversity loss during the Late Pleistoce

Our manuscript on bovine deep-time paleogenomics at Denisova Cave and in the broader mid-latitude Asia is online! doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... 🦬🦴🧬

Main findings in the 🧵 below ⬇️

@cpgsthlm.bsky.social @genomebiolevol.bsky.social #aDNA

We are recruiting!

If you like evolutionary biology, microbial genomics, and host-pathogen interactions we have a PhD opening at @ugiatucl.bsky.social using population-scale metagenomics to map global phage diversity and uncover evolutionary signatures that could point to new antimicrobials.

🚨 Reminder to send in your abstracts for the palaeogenomics conference in Stockholm! 🧬🦠🐕💃🏼

If your results are still preliminary, my tip is to keep the abstract broad rather than skip submitting altogether 😉

See the post below for the price estimate and looking forward to seeing you there 🥳! #aDNA

Mammoth RNA sequenced for the first time, marking a giant leap toward understanding prehistoric life Scientists successfully sequence the RNA from woolly mammoths found in Siberia that lived up between 10,000 thousand and 50,000 years ago.

Good read about mammoth ancient RNAs

www.livescience.com/animals/mamm...

🦣🧬🦣🤯💥We are pleased to share our new paper about ancient RNA expression profiles from the Woolly Mammoth, now published in Cell @cellpress.bsky.social

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

If you want to know more, read the 🧵 below: