News Genetics

Black Death immunity came at a cost to modern-day health

A genetic variant that boosts Crohn’s disease risk may have helped people survive bubonic plague

archaeologists excavating graves of plague victims at a London cemetery

Using DNA from the excavated remains of plague victims, including those buried in a London cemetery from 1348–1349, and from people who died earlier and later, researchers searched for evidence of how the Black Death pushed the immune system to evolve.

Courtesy of Museum of London Archaeology

By Wynne Parry

A genetic variant that appears to have boosted medieval Europeans’ ability to survive the Black Death centuries ago may contribute — albeit in a small way — to an inflammatory disease afflicting people today.