John Hawks

John Hawks

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immune system

The gene from Denisovan to Neanderthal to modern mucus
A “genetic sandwich” reveals how a block of DNA entered several populations successively and was affected by natural selection.
 • John Hawks
Denisovan HLA and its role in immunity
Today's people have inherited several immune alleles from archaic people. Understanding what difference they made is a continuing challenge.
 • John Hawks
Lactase and the Neandertals
New research shows that a common gene variant that may explain some lactase persistence in East Asia is introgressed from Neandertals.
 • John Hawks
Another look at selection and the Black Death
An exchange of comments probes the story of the EPAS2 gene, balancing selection, and resistance to Yersinia pestis.
 • John Hawks
Top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2024
New resolution is emerging of some events in ancient human populations, and a clearer view of some parts of the genome.
 • John Hawks
Top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2023
This year's highlights include ways of finding ancient relatives, how some phenotypes evolved in ancient people, and trace evidence from artifacts.
 • John Hawks
Interaction and mixture: big picture and small
From the level of function of a single gene up to the movements of entire populations, our evolution was built from mixture.
 • John Hawks
Probing the pathogens that afflicted ancient humanity
In the first part of a review of pathogens in human origins, I examine a sampling of infectious diseases in people today and their diverse origins.
 • John Hawks
Top 10 discoveries about ancient people from DNA in 2022
Research on ancient genomes has moved way beyond population mixture into broader questions about how ancient people lived and interacted with their…
 • John Hawks
Goat immunity modified by introgression during and after domestication
A new paper in Science Advances describes some of the evidence for selection on introgressed genes in goats.
 • John Hawks
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