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Well that’s exactly it, the original Science article (“Genome-Wide Comparison of Medieval and Modern Mycobacterium leprae”) only deals with the bacterial strains, and does not discuss human “evolution” at all. Literally, the word “evolve(d)” does not appear in the article, and the word “evolution” is used only when referring to the evolution of the pathogen. Human resistance to it is mentioned only very briefly in the last paragraph:

The sudden decline of leprosy in 16th century Europe was almost certainly not due to the medieval European strain of M. leprae losing virulence as evidenced by the close similarity between the modern NHDP63 strain and ancient Jorgen_625 and SK2 strains. Extraneous factors such as other infectious diseases like plague or tuberculosis, changes in host immunity (26, 27), or improved social conditions may have accounted for its decline.

The Verge article above, and especially its title, are based on the Eurekalert sensationalist speculation about the implications of the original study. Also, it is insinuated that the researchers somehow managed to reconstruct the entire bacterial genome from 0.1% of “genetic material”. What does this even mean? The original article clearly states that one of the strains was so well preserved that they performed a full de novo assembly of its (entire) genome.

Very poor science reporting. Can’t say I am not disappointed. I expected much more from The Verge.

6 days ago on Medieval humans evolved to fight off leprosy, study finds

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i wish cab and limo drivers would realize technology is their friend, or at least it can be. i used hailo in queens the other day and the driver told me the interest in the service among the drivers is quite low. these people are in a tough spot with all the fees, regulations, exploitation, crazy work hours, competition. if i can hail a ride knowing in advance when it will arrive and how much it will cost, i will be a much better customer. and it can only help a driver to have more options and information. for both of us to be able to rate the experience makes us behave responsibly; no more drivers taking a longer way or customers abusing the driver. the system is not perfect, but it’s a whole lot better than the kafkian experience we have now. the only people trying to stop this are those currently abusing the system. it will be a real pleasure to watch them become extinct. thank you, internet.

13 days ago on Court rules NYC taxis can be hailed using smartphone apps 1 reply