1. |
- Librado, P., et al.
(author)
-
The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes
- 2021
-
In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 598, s. 634-640
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Analysis of 273 ancient horse genomes reveals that modern domestic horses originated in the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region. Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare(1). However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling(2-4) at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc(3). Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia(5) and Anatolia(6), have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association(7) between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 bc(8,9) driving the spread of Indo-European languages(10). This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium bc Sintashta culture(11,12).
|
|
2. |
- Ferreira, Mjv, et al.
(author)
-
Poster Session 3 : Tuesday 5 May 2015, 08
- 2015
-
In: European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2047-2404 .- 2047-2412. ; 16 Suppl 1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)
|
|
3. |
- Andersson, Per A., et al.
(author)
-
Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies
- 2024
-
In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Research. - 2045-2322. ; 14:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- When someone violates a social norm, others may think that some sanction would be appropriate. We examine how the experience of emotions like anger and disgust relate to the judged appropriateness of sanctions, in a pre-registered analysis of data from a large-scale study in 56 societies. Across the world, we find that individuals who experience anger and disgust over a norm violation are more likely to endorse confrontation, ostracism and, to a smaller extent, gossip. Moreover, we find that the experience of anger is consistently the strongest predictor of judgments of confrontation, compared to other emotions. Although the link between state-based emotions and judgments may seem universal, its strength varies across countries. Aligned with theoretical predictions, this link is stronger in societies, and among individuals, that place higher value on individual autonomy. Thus, autonomy values may increase the role that emotions play in guiding judgments of social sanctions.
|
|
4. |
- Steinthorsdottir, V, et al.
(author)
-
Genetic predisposition to hypertension is associated with preeclampsia in European and Central Asian women
- 2020
-
In: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1, s. 5976-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Preeclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy, affecting both maternal and fetal health. In genome-wide association meta-analysis of European and Central Asian mothers, we identify sequence variants that associate with preeclampsia in the maternal genome at ZNF831/20q13 and FTO/16q12. These are previously established variants for blood pressure (BP) and the FTO variant has also been associated with body mass index (BMI). Further analysis of BP variants establishes that variants at MECOM/3q26, FGF5/4q21 and SH2B3/12q24 also associate with preeclampsia through the maternal genome. We further show that a polygenic risk score for hypertension associates with preeclampsia. However, comparison with gestational hypertension indicates that additional factors modify the risk of preeclampsia.
|
|
5. |
- Allentoft, Morten E., et al.
(author)
-
Population genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia
- 2024
-
In: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 625:7994, s. 301-311
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Western Eurasia witnessed several large-scale human migrations during the Holocene1–5. Here, to investigate the cross-continental effects of these migrations, we shotgun-sequenced 317 genomes—mainly from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods—from across northern and western Eurasia. These were imputed alongside published data to obtain diploid genotypes from more than 1,600 ancient humans. Our analyses revealed a ‘great divide’ genomic boundary extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers were highly genetically differentiated east and west of this zone, and the effect of the neolithization was equally disparate. Large-scale ancestry shifts occurred in the west as farming was introduced, including near-total replacement of hunter-gatherers in many areas, whereas no substantial ancestry shifts happened east of the zone during the same period. Similarly, relatedness decreased in the west from the Neolithic transition onwards, whereas, east of the Urals, relatedness remained high until around 4,000 bp, consistent with the persistence of localized groups of hunter-gatherers. The boundary dissolved when Yamnaya-related ancestry spread across western Eurasia around 5,000 bp, resulting in a second major turnover that reached most parts of Europe within a 1,000-year span. The genetic origin and fate of the Yamnaya have remained elusive, but we show that hunter-gatherers from the Middle Don region contributed ancestry to them. Yamnaya groups later admixed with individuals associated with the Globular Amphora culture before expanding into Europe. Similar turnovers occurred in western Siberia, where we report new genomic data from a ‘Neolithic steppe’ cline spanning the Siberian forest steppe to Lake Baikal. These prehistoric migrations had profound and lasting effects on the genetic diversity of Eurasian populations.
|
|
6. |
- Andrighetto, Giulia, et al.
(author)
-
Changes in social norms during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across 43 countries
- 2024
-
In: Nature Communications. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The emergence of COVID-19 dramatically changed social behavior across societies and contexts. Here we study whether social norms also changed. Specifically, we study this question for cultural tightness (the degree to which societies generally have strong norms), specific social norms (e.g. stealing, hand washing), and norms about enforcement, using survey data from 30,431 respondents in 43 countries recorded before and in the early stages following the emergence of COVID-19. Using variation in disease intensity, we shed light on the mechanisms predicting changes in social norm measures. We find evidence that, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand washing norms increased while tightness and punishing frequency slightly decreased but observe no evidence for a robust change in most other norms. Thus, at least in the short term, our findings suggest that cultures are largely stable to pandemic threats except in those norms, hand washing in this case, that are perceived to be directly relevant to dealing with the collective threat. Tightness-looseness theory predicts that social norms strengthen following threat. Here the authors test this and find that, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand washing norms increased, but no evidence was observed for a robust change in most other norms.
|
|
7. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, et al.
(author)
-
Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies
- 2021
-
In: Nature Communications. - : Nature Research. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate. Little is known about peoples preferred responses to norm violations across countries. Here, in a study of 57 countries, the authors highlight cultural similarities and differences in peoples perception of the appropriateness of norm violations.
|
|
8. |
- Kolesova, N., et al.
(author)
-
Linking contaminant exposure to embryo aberrations in sediment-dwelling amphipods : a multi-basin field study in the Baltic Sea
- 2024
-
In: Ecological Indicators. - 1470-160X .- 1872-7034. ; 160
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Embryo development of sediment-dwelling amphipod Monoporeia affinis is sensitive to contaminant exposure. Therefore, embryo aberrations in gravid females are used to detect the biological effects of contaminant exposure in the Baltic Sea benthic habitats. The indicator based on the aberration frequencies in wild populations (ReproIND) is currently used for environmental status assessment within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Descriptor 8.2. However, so far, it has mainly been applied in the Bothnian Sea (BoS) and the Western Gotland Basin (WGB), where it was found to respond to contaminant pressure and non-chemical environmental factors, such as temperature. To expand the applicability of the indicator to other Baltic Sea basins, we used field data from the gulfs of Finland and Riga, BoS, and WGB to investigate the relationships between reproductive disorders and contaminants and environmental factors, thus evaluating the indicator suitability in these areas. Despite the natural variability of the environments and contaminant distribution across and within the basins, we found that high concentrations of contaminants, e.g. metals, PAHs, and PCBs, contribute significantly to the embryo aberrations in M. affinis. These findings support ReproIND applicability in the Baltic Sea and, perhaps, in other marine areas.
|
|