Study of ancient DNA shows bronze age Yamnaya people spread gene variants that carry increased risk of multiple sclerosis
Ancient DNA helps explain why northern Europeans have a higher risk of multiple sclerosis than other ancestries: the disease is a genetic legacy of horseback-riding cattle herders who swept into the region about 5,000 years ago.
The findings come from a huge project to compare modern DNA with that culled from ancient humans’ teeth and bones – allowing scientists to trace prehistoric migration and disease-linked genes that tagged along.
