The Pith: the genetic relationships between bacteria in our stomach can tell us a lot about the relationships between various groups of people. Additionally, the distribution of different strains of bacteria may have significant public health implications.
The above image is from a paper which was pushed online yesterday in PLoS ONE: Evolutionary History of Helicobacter pylori Sequences Reflect Past Human Migrations in Southeast Asia. It's a paper which caught my attention for several reasons. First, I've exhibited some curiosity about the history and prehistory of Southeast Asia of late. Elucidating this region's historical dynamics may bear upon more general questions of human evolutionary and cultural process. Second, H. pylori is a fascinating organism whose connection to specific human populations is tight enough that it can shed light on past interactions of different groups. In short, just like humans H. pylori exhibits regional specificity and local history. But additionally, H. ...
