Black Death 700 years ago is still affecting human health

The devastation of the plague pandemic left a genetic mark on humanity and it is still affecting health nearly 700 years later.

About half of the people died in the mid-1300s when the Black Death swept through Europe.  A pioneering study where the DNA of centuries-old skeletons was analyzed, found mutations that helped people survive the plague. But the same mutations are connected to auto-immune diseases afflicting people today.

The Black Death is one of the bleakest, deadliest, and most significant moments in the history of humanity. Approximately 200 million people died due to the plague.  It was suspected by the researchers that an event of such enormity must have contributed to shaping human evolution. Researchers took DNA from the teeth of 206 ancient skeletons and analyzed them. They were precisely able to date the human remains during, before, or after the Black Death.

The plague-resisting mutations are more common today than they were before the Black Death. They have been linked to auto-immune diseases like the inflammatory bowel disease Crohn's, which happens to be the problem. Those resisting mutation that helped to keep the ancestors alive 700 years ago could be damaging the health today.