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Homo sapiens-specific evolution unveiled by ancient southern African genomes, published in Nature
In southern Africa, a group of people lived in partial isolation for hundreds of thousands of years. This is shown in a new study based on analyses of the genomes of 28 people who lived between 10,200 and 150 years ago in southern Africa. The researchers also found genetic adaptations that likely shaped Homo sapiens…
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A decade with the ancient Southern Africans
The Jakobsson Lab team, in various constellations of researchers and with varying levels of engagement, has been working on genetic material first investigated more than a decade ago. Now, the first fruits of the work are collected. The major publication from this project is out now. Behind the scene impressions.
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Ideas that change the world.
Human Evolution was the focus of the latest episode (Season 6, Ep. 112) in the Nobel Prize Museum’s podcast series, Ideas that change the world, with Mattias Jakobsson. We all carry the entire history of humanity in our genes. When researchers examine the DNA of people living today and compare it with the genetic material…
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New master student in the group
Anna Louise Olsson has joined the group to work on her master’s degree project, Genomic History of Northwestern Africa since the Iron Age, under the mentorship of Luciana Simões. Welcome to the team, Loiuse! Project summary North Africa has long been a crucial crossroads, connecting sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Near East, facilitating cultural…
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Mark Chernyshev is the new postdoctoral researcher in the Jakobsson Lab
We are happy to announce that Mark Chernyshev has recently joined the team as a bioinformatician researcher in population genetics. He studies ancient and modern population demography using whole-genome sequencing datasets and develops tools using Markov models. Mark has earned his PhD from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm for his work on Computational approaches to study…
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Post-fieldwork in Philippines – impressions
Max Larena and Mariam Omar Gómez visited the Philippines this summer. Mariam was travelling around, meeting collaborators, collecting DNA data and immersing in the languages and cultures of the region she focuses on in her PhD work.
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It’s not really a goodbye, Tina!
Tina Saupe, a postdoctoral fellow at the Human Evolution Program and the Jakobsson Lab since March 2023, leaves our group this summer. Tina received the postdoctoral fellowship from Wenner-Gren Foundations in Sweden to study mobility in the Levant during the Bronze Age period (Bronze Age Rake project, 2023-25). She has also worked on the ERC-funded…
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He traces the genetic history of modern humans
The Knut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation has just published an update on the research by Mattias Jakobsson, one of the KAW scholars. Mattias Jakobsson’s focus in his new Wallenberg Scholar project is to track the development that occurred between 300,000 and 600,000 years ago, following the genetic line that leads to modern humans. The material…
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HEPpers Outing 2025
This year, the Human Evolution Program (HEP) group visited Stora Fjäderholmen during our annual outing. The highlight was playing Boule (also known as Petanque). After several rounds and point counting, we know who can hit the bull’s eye! We were lucky with the weather, too!
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HLA diversity and signatures of selection in the Maniq, a nomadic hunter-gatherer population in Southern Thailand
A new article co-authored by Mattias Jakobsson and Max Larena has been published in Immunogenetics. Schaschl, H., Herzog, T., Oberreiter, V. et al. HLA diversity and signatures of selection in the Maniq, a nomadic hunter-gatherer population in Southern Thailand. Immunogenetics 77, 23 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-025-01380-0 Abstract The Maniq, a small and isolated nomadic hunter-gatherer population from the rainforests of Southern…
