Ancient DNA as a Window into Human History and Biology
The Fairfield Osborn Jr. Memorial Lecture
Event Details
- Type
- Friday Lecture Series
- Speaker(s)
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David Reich, Ph.D., professor of genetics, Harvard Medical School; professor of human evolutionary biology, Harvard University; investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Speaker bio(s)
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In this talk, David Reich will discuss the revolution that has been wrought by the invention 15 years ago of a new tool for studying the human past - ancient DNA sequencing. The invention of the microscope around 400 years ago made it possible to discover the world of microorganisms that had previously been invisible. In the same way, when we obtain DNA from past cultures, we are finding surprise after surprise, which are often in tension with what we thought we knew. This talk will discuss not only some of the surprises from history, but also about biology and in particular the way natural selection has worked over the last 10,000 years.
David Reich is a Professor at Harvard and an HHMI Investigator. He led the studies from 2010-2014 that analyzed the newly sequenced archaic Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes to show that they interbred with modern humans. Since then, his lab has produced more than half the ancient human DNA data reported to date, documenting the population movements that spread Indo-European languages. He received the 2017 Dan David Prize, the 2019 Wiley Prize, the 2020 Darwin-Wallace Award, and the 2021 Massry Prize (all joint with Svante Pääbo). He also received the 2019 National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology.
- Open to
- Tri-Institutional