Andrew Kitchen

TL;DR: The phylogenetic analysis shows that the current S. sonnei population descends from a common ancestor that existed less than 500 years ago and that diversified into several distinct lineages with unique characteristics, and suggests that the majority of this diversification occurred in Europe and was followed by more recent establishment of local pathogen populations on other continents.

TL;DR: The use of temporally structured sequence data within a Bayesian framework is explored to estimate the evolutionary rates for seven human dsDNA viruses, including variola virus (VARV) (the causative agent of smallpox) and herpes simplex virus-1, revealing that some ds DNA viruses may evolve at rates approaching those of RNA viruses.

TL;DR: A model for the peopling of the New World in which Amerind ancestors diverged from the Asian gene pool prior to 40,000 years ago and experienced a gradual population expansion as they moved into Beringia is supported.

TL;DR: A relaxed linguistic clock is implemented to date language divergences and epigraphic evidence for the sampling dates of extinct Semitic languages to calibrate the rate of language evolution and statistical tests of alternative Semitic histories support an initial divergence of Akkadian from ancestral Semitic over competing hypotheses.

TL;DR: There is no statistical support for virus–mosquito co-divergence, suggesting that the ‘insect-specific’ flaviviruses may have undergone multiple introductions with frequent host switching, and the vast potential that exists for the study of biodiversity within a range of potential hosts and vectors is considered.