Ideas that change the world.


Human Evolution was the focus of the latest episode (Season 6, Ep. 112) in the Nobel Prize Museum’s podcast series, Ideas that change the world, with Mattias Jakobsson.

We all carry the entire history of humanity in our genes. When researchers examine the DNA of people living today and compare it with the genetic material of those who lived tens of thousands of years ago, a new picture of human evolution emerges – a picture characterised by variation, mixture and diversity.

Geneticist Mattias Jakobsson explains how the technology for which Svante Pääbo received the Nobel Prize is being used to understand how we humans became who we are.


  • RJ funds a new program, “From Milk to Mead – Indo-European Food Culture in Prehistory”, co-led by Jenny Larsson

    RJ funds a new program, “From Milk to Mead – Indo-European Food Culture in Prehistory”, co-led by Jenny Larsson

    Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) is an independent foundation that supports research in the humanities and social sciences essential to understanding and addressing society’s current challenges, both nationally and globally. Through its funding, the foundation aims to promote basic research of the highest scientific quality. It also responds to the need for long-term, stable research funding. This…

  • Complex maternal genetic landscape in the Koṅkaṇī population of India

    Complex maternal genetic landscape in the Koṅkaṇī population of India

    Sequeira, J. J., Kumar, L., van Driem, G., Thangaraj, K., & Mustak, M. S. (2026). Complex maternal genetic landscape in the Koṅkaṇī population of India. Heredity, 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-026-00896-9 A new genetic study sheds light on the maternal ancestry and historical demographic dynamics of the Konkani population along the southwest coast of India. The research…

  • Mattias Jakobsson receives an award from the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala

    Mattias Jakobsson receives an award from the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala

    The 2026 prize for an interdisciplinary achievement of outstanding quality is awarded to Mattias Jakobsson for his distinguished research into human origins and prehistory. By linking Stone Age genomic data with archaeology and linguistics, Jakobsson has shown that there were different populations that engaged in farming, and hunting and gathering. Read more about the Royal…