揭示梅毒的秘密

Integrating archaeological, skeletal, and paleogenomic data can reveal the origins of syphilis Molly K. Zuckerman1,2 and Lydia Bailey1 T he origin and antiquity of syphilis have been long-standing and controversial questions across a wide breadth of fields, from the history of medicine to cultural geography. Partially, this is because the disease and its causal bacterium, Trepo- nema pallidum subspecies pallidum (TPA), are extremely challenging to study. This is true for both ancient and modern syphilis and for settings from bench science and patient diagnoses to archival records and archaeological sites that yield exhumed human skeletons and ancient DNA (aDNA). However technological advances in the study of aDNA are providing insights into the origin of this complex disease. …