Nico Rascovan

Sharing the commentary we wrote with @marialopopolo.bsky.social and @avanzich.bsky.social

👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

in which we discuss the biomedical implications on Leprosy of our recent article on M. lepromatosis in the Americas: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

@pasteur.fr

Institut Pasteur (@pasteur.fr) is recruiting new young PIs to open new groups in the Institute. Deadline is February 9th! Don't miss the opportunity!

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow CREDIT Barbieri et al., Current Biology

DNA from Napoleon’s 1812 army identifies the pathogens likely responsible for the army’s demise during their Russian retreat. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Nicolás Rascovan & colleagues
@currentbiology.bsky.social

DNA reveals hidden killer of Napoleon’s troops in Russia – DW – 10/24/2025 Genetic analysis has shed new light on one of history's deadliest military disasters — the French retreat from Russia in 1812.

A couple of bugs in the system for the troops it turns out. French teams led by @pasteur.fr / @nrascovan.bsky.social have analysed centuries-old teeth to find out what ailed Napoleon's troops during their doomed retreat www.dw.com/en/napoleons...

@isba11.bsky.social
Super happy and proud for @marialopopolo.bsky.social and @avanzich.bsky.social who got the prize to the best paper at #ISBA11 in Turin.
Thanks to the jury for this honor!

YouTube video by European Commission From Ancient Bones to Modern Insights: Argentinian Scientist Uncovering History of Disease in Paris

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMH1...

I am very thankful to the @ec.europa.eu for highlighting my research at @institutpasteur.bsky.social . It is a privilege for me to have the opportunity of developing my professional life here.

‘I don’t want my training to go to waste’: the Argentinian scientists working side jobs amid Milei’s sweeping cuts Javier Milei’s government’s punishing budget cuts have forced researchers to take up work as electricians, school teachers or Uber drivers

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

About the tragic situation that the scientific system from Argentina is undergoing

Attenuation of virulence in Yersinia pestis across three plague pandemics Yersinia pestis has spilled over from wild rodent reservoirs to commensal rodents and humans, causing three historically recorded pandemics. Depletion in the copy number of the plasmid-encoded virulen...

L’article à l'origine de cette carte blanche dans @lemonde.fr a été publié le 29 mai dans @science.org.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

@yersiniaunit.bsky.social @gmasfiol.bsky.social @pierrelebury.bsky.social @nrascovan.bsky.social & coll. @pasteur.fr

Les Européens ont-ils apporté la lèpre en Amérique ? Contrairement à ce qu’on pensait, la lèpre existait déjà en Amérique depuis plus de mille ans, véhiculée par une autre bactérie. Ce qui n’a pas empêché les colons de l’apporter aussi.

Les Européens ont-ils apporté la lèpre en Amérique ? En explorant cette question, des chercheurs ont dévoilé l'histoire complexe des bactéries responsables de cette maladie. Un beau travail de @nrascovan.bsky.social et ses collègues.
www.pourlascience.fr/sd/microbiol...

Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence Leprosy, primarily caused by Mycobacterium leprae, is considered a disease introduced into the Americas during European colonization. However, the recent discovery of a second pathogen causing leprosy...

Nicolas Rascovan @nrascovan.bsky.social est biologiste, directeur de recherche à l'Institut Pasteur de l’équipe de Paléogénomique microbienne et dernier auteur de l'étude. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Revelations on the History of Leprosy in the Americas Leprosy existed in America long before the arrival of Europeans: a new study reveals the history of a neglected pathogen.

🌎🧬 Leprosy was already endemic in the Americas for 1,000+ years BEFORE Europeans arrived. Scientists analyzed DNA from ~800 samples & found Mycobacterium lepromatosis infecting Indigenous populations centuries before colonization.
#Leprosy @marialopopolo.bsky.social @nrascovan.bsky.social

Excited to have been a small part of this amazing project lead by @marialopopolo.bsky.social and headed by @nrascovan.bsky.social My part was #ancientDNA labwork for one ancestor that had M. lepromatosis - a form of leprosy present in the US before European contact. Out in #Science -link in thread

Un azote antiguo: la lepra circulaba en América antes de la llegada de los europeos En colaboración con comunidades indígenas, un equipo internacional de 40 científicos halló ADN de una de las dos bacterias responsables de esta enfermedad estigmatizante en los restos de individuos que vivieron en lo que hoy es Argentina y Canadá hace más de mil años.

Un diente reescribe la historia americana

Una gran investigación de @nrascovan.bsky.social @marialopopolo.bsky.social @avanzich.bsky.social publicada hoy en @science.org

Lo cuento en @agenciasinc.es

www.agenciasinc.es/Reportajes/U...

Leprosy was an American scourge long before Europeans arrived Scientists find DNA from an enigmatic bacterium in 1000-year-old skeletons

Big news in #GlobalHealthHistory today. A species of bacterium that causes leprosy, discovered in 2008 in modern patients, has been proven to have been present in the Americas well before European arrival. More details in 🧵 below: www.science.org/content/arti... #GlobalMiddleAges #histmed #aDNA 🧪

The FIRST International Conference on Palaeogenomics will happen in Stockholm, Sweden, June 23-26, 2026!

Topics will encompass all corners of ancient DNA research, from humans to wildlife and sediments🧬🦣💀🦠

Save the dates ✅

Check the website icp2026.palaeogenomics.org and follow us for updates!

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