Study pushes back timeline of syphilis-related diseases

An article by Mississippi State Professor of Anthropology Molly Zuckerman and her graduate student Lydia Bailey has been published in Science, one of the foremost scientific journals in the world.

Zuckerman and Bailey's piece examines new evidence from ancient DNA that pushes the origins of diseases closely related to syphilis back more than 5,000 years and strongly supports an American rather than European origin for a close relative of the disease. Drawing on recent paleogenomic discoveries from Colombia and Mexico, the article demonstrates how advances in ancient DNA research are transforming long-standing debates about human disease, evolution and global health. The article is available at www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aee7963.

Zuckerman said the research is important because it "moves us further into understanding the origins and adaptability of a disease that is harmfully resurging in human populations, especially in the U.S., and thus its potential for future change."

Zuckerman said her career was profoundly shaped by her graduate mentor who intentionally included her in research on the origins of syphilis. She said now her inclusion of Bailey in current research is "a meaningful way to pay that mentorship forward" by providing the same kind of hands-on, scholarly opportunity that once helped launch her own research path.

An applied anthropology master's student from Lafayette, New Jersey, Bailey said her inclusion in the project highlights how examining infectious diseases "in deep time can inform how we think about the roles of human mobility, environment and behavior in shaping infectious disease spread today." As she pursues a research career focused on children's health and public policy, she said publishing in "Science" is especially significant because it allows the team to share these insights "beyond anthropology and into public conversations that can help destigmatize infectious disease," ultimately supporting more informed and equitable public health efforts.