What can ancient DNA reveal about the past? - with Pooja Swali

How can ancient DNA help us understand how diseases spread? This month, geneticist and pathogen genomics expert Pooja Swali explains how samples of DNA from the past can reveal how diseases have spread across the world over time. We explore the what, where, how, and why of ancient DNA research, and what doors these questions have opened for the future of the field. Pooja has worked extensively on Yersinia pestis, the bacteria responsible for plague, and uncovered the existence of plague thousands of years earlier than previously anticipated. Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month.

You can listen to What can ancient DNA reveal about the past? - with Pooja Swali online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

What can ancient DNA reveal about the past? - with Pooja Swali is an episode from Ri Science Podcast by The Royal Institution.

This episode is 25:05 long.

This episode was published on Feb 25, 2026.

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