First historical cases of sexually transmitted syphilis were documented by Italian doctors in the wake of Neapolitan war. The disease was characterized by painful pustules, frightful facial deformities, eventual madness and even death. The bacteria responsible for this scourge, Treponema pallidum (also known as T.... click to read more

By accessing the genomes of past populations, researchers have revealed how migrations have been at the origin of major cultural changes for our societies. Some of them have shaped Europe's modern genetic heritage. In France, this type of study had only been carried out on... click to read more

The cave bear is one of the dozens of species of large Pleistocene mammals that faced extinction during the last Ice Age. Until today, the reasons for their extinctions remain mysterious, especially since the cave bear Ursus spelaeus populated vast areas of Eurasia for more... click to read more

Before modern humans started migrating outside Africa, Eurasia was home to Neandertals, a group of humans that parted ways with the ancestors of modern humans half a million years ago. Neandertals lived in Europe for hundreds of thousands of years, from at least 430,000 years... click to read more

In prehistoric times, at least two groups of hominins (that is, the entity which includes humans and their closest relatives) inhabited Eurasia: Neandertals, who lived throughout Europe and the Near East, and Denisovans, who likely lived in Asia. Genetically, Neandertals and Denisovans were more different... click to read more