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This Week in Science: Nov 10, 2017

In this week's Science, an international research team reports the use of genomic data to track the course of the current — and seventh — cholera pandemic throughout heavily affected Africa. Using genomic data from 1,070 Vibrio cholerae O1 isolates across 45 African countries and over a 49-year period, the investigators show that past epidemics could be attributed to a single expanded lineage. This lineage, they note, was introduced at least 11 times since 1970 into two main regions — West Africa and East/Southern Africa — causing epidemics that lasted up to 28 years. Notably, the last five introductions of the bacteria into Africa were all from Asia and involved multidrug-resistant sublineages that replaced antibiotic-susceptible sublineages after 2000. The findings, the study's authors state, may help "gauge the impact of interventions on future patterns of disease in this region." GenomeWeb has more on this and a related study, here.

The Scan

Hormone-Based Gene Therapy to Sterilize Domestic Cat

A new paper in Nature Communication suggests that gene therapy could be a safer alternative to spaying domestic cats.

Active Lifestyle Linked to Type 2 Diabetes Prevention in People at High Genetic Risk

A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that an active lifestyle goes a long way in type 2 diabetes prevention.

Beneficial, Harmful Effects of Introgression Between Wild and Domesticated European Grapes

A paper in PNAS shows that European wild grapevines were an important resource for improving the flavor of cultivated wine grapes.

Genetic Ancestry of South America's Indigenous Mapuche Traced

Researchers in Current Biology analyzed genome-wide data from more than five dozen Mapuche individuals to better understand their genetic history.