The evolutionary history of Latin Americans unveiled

New genetic analyses of Latin Americans have revealed numerous insights into how indigenous peoples evolved before European contact, and how their genetics changed in recent centuries. Using a novel technique to pick apart genetic signatures of indigenous Americans, the international research team identified genetic adaptations in immunity-related genes that occurred after contact between indigenous Americans and Europeans. The latter brought with them many infectious diseases to which the native populations had not been able to adapt, such as smallpox and measles.

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