Friday Seminar: 20th February
- Date
- 20 February 2026, 10:15–12:00
- Location
- English Park, Eng 3-2028/zoom
- Type
- Seminar
- Lecturer
- Grace Kennedy; post doc and Andrea Soler i Núñez (PhD student) , department of organismal Biology/evolution Biology,UU
- Organiser
- Forum för Africa studier
- Contact person
- Jecinta Okumu
Our Genes Remember the Journey: How African populations adapted to new environments, diets, and diseases .
This seminar explores how genetic data can be used to reconstruct human history, migration, and biological adaptation across Africa. Beginning with a brief introduction to genetics and inheritance, the talk will demonstrate how DNA records long-term population histories in both humans and animals. Focusing on major population movements within Africa, the seminar examines how shifts in lifestyle—such as the adoption of farming and herding—and migration into new environments exposed populations to novel climates, diets, and disease pressures. Using evidence from ancient and modern DNA, alongside linguistic history, the presentation highlights how migration, culture, and biology evolved together. By identifying genetic signatures of natural selection, the seminar illustrates adaptations related to disease resistance, climate and heat stress, and dietary changes. Overall, the talk shows how genetics, language, and environment together reveal enduring relationships between people, livestock, and their surroundings, and how ancient adaptations continue to shape health and biological diversity today.
Zoom Link:
https://uu-se.zoom.us/j/62164967657
MOST WELCOME!