"Ancient Feces Reveal Insights into Mexico's Historic Intestinal Parasites"

A study in PLOS One reveals that ancient feces from over 1,000 years ago provide crucial DNA insights into pathogen prevalence in historic Mexico, shedding light on intestinal parasite infection.

• Drew Capone and colleagues published findings in PLOS One detailing how ancient feces helped identify intestinal parasite infection in populations from Mexico over 1,000 years ago.
• DNA extracted from the ancient feces reveals insights into parasitism, emphasizing the role of pathogen diversity in the gastrointestinal tract of historic Mexican peoples.
• The study highlights specific pathogen species, including pinworm (parasite), found in human feces, illustrating the long-standing challenges of intestinal parasite infection in ancient communities.