<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png" width="749" height="500" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":500,"width":749,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":91551,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":true,"internalRedirect":"https://www.razibkhan.com/i/194372142?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Despite the preprint being out for two years, Akbari et al.’s <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10358-1">Ancient DNA reveals pervasive directional selection across West Eurasia</a> publication in <em>Nature </em>this week has resulted in a massive media response. Though Razib has discussed this work before, he thought it would be useful to review it, and put it in context in a new monologue.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{"url":"https://www.razibkhan.com/subscribe?","text":"Subscribe now","action":null,"class":null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.razibkhan.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{"url":"https://www.razibkhan.com/subscribe?&gift=true","text":"Give a gift subscription","action":null,"class":null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.razibkhan.com/subscribe?&gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{"url":"https://www.razibkhan.com/p/10000-years-of-selection-in-western?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share","text":"Share","action":null,"class":null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.razibkhan.com/p/10000-years-of-selection-in-western?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>
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Despite the preprint being out for two years, Akbari et al.’s Ancient DNA reveals pervasive directional selection across West Eurasia publication in Nature this week has resulted in a massive media response. Though Razib has discussed this work before, he thought it would be useful to review it, and put it in context in a new monologue.Subscribe nowGive a gift subscriptionShare Read more

<a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WWVC!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35bc4153-5ae0-4365-8564-a068971df87c_749x500.png" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><p>Despite the preprint being out for two years, Akbari et al.’s <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10358-1" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ancient DNA reveals pervasive directional selection across West Eurasia</a> publication in <em>Nature </em>this week has resulted in a massive media response. Though Razib has discussed this work before, he thought it would be useful to review it, and put it in context in a new monologue.</p><p><a href="https://www.razibkhan.com/subscribe?" rel="noopener noreferrer">Subscribe now</a></p><p><a href="https://www.razibkhan.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true" rel="noopener noreferrer">Give a gift subscription</a></p><p><a href="https://www.razibkhan.com/p/10000-years-of-selection-in-western?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share" rel="noopener noreferrer">Share</a></p>
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10,000 years of selection (in Western Eurasia)

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10,000 years of selection (in Western Eurasia)

10,000 years of selection (in Western Eurasia)