Ancestral worm protection could cause lung disease in Viking descendants

In a paper published today in Scientific Reports a group of researchers led by (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine) LSTM have found that the key to an inherited deficiency, predisposing people to emphysema and other lung conditions, could lie in their Viking roots.

Archaeological excavations of Viking latrine pits in Denmark have revealed that these populations suffered massive worm infestations. The way that their genes developed to protect their vital organs from disease caused by worms has become the inherited trait which can now lead to lung disease in smokers.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema affect over 300 million people, or nearly 5% of the global population. The only inherited risk factor is alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency, and this risk is compounded if individuals smoke tobacco.

A1AT protects the lungs and liver from enzymes called proteases that are produced by cells of the immune system, but also by parasitic worms. In the absence of A1AT these proteases can break down lung tissue leading to COPD and emphysema.

Deficiency of A1AT is genetically determined and is due to deviants of A1AT that are surprisingly common, particularly in Scandinavia, where they evolved in Viking populations more than two thousand years ago. Why these disease-causing deviants of A1AT are so common in human populations today has long been a mystery.

LSTM's Professor Richard Pleass is senior author on the paper. He said: "Vikings would have eaten contaminated food and parasites would have migrated to various organs, including lungs and liver, where the proteases they released would cause disease."

In this latest paper the authors show that these deviant forms of A1AT bind an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) that evolved to protect people from worms. The binding of A1AT to IgE prevents the antibody molecule from being broken down by such proteases.

"Thus these deviant forms of A1AT would have protected Viking populations, who neither smoked tobacco nor lived long lives, from worms." Continued Professor Pleass, "it is only in the last century that modern medicine has allowed human populations to be treated for disease causing worms. Consequently these deviant forms of A1AT, that once protected people from parasites, are now at liberty to cause emphysema and COPD."

Click here to read the original article

Call me to discuss your insurance needs on 0208 2550617 / 07768 865983

Email quote@archaeology-insurance.co.uk

Follow on Twitter

What Archaeology Insurance do I need?

As you know, there are many, many different types of archaeologist!  There are also just as many different types of insurance.  Which of these you require of course depends on who you are and what you are doing.  Below I have picked on 4 groups – which might be typical – so that I can give a brief break-down of the insurance options available to them: 

• Student, travelling to Greece to fulfil their course field-work requirements
• Local Archaeology / History Society
• Small commercial excavation / survey business (sole trader or limited)
• Larger commercial archaeology / heritage business

 Further details of each group:

 

Student, travelling to Greece to fulfil their course field-work requirements

Activities: 4 weeks back-packing, 2 paid weeks excavation work

Insurance you should have: 

• Travel Insurance including cover for ‘light manual work’

  

Local Archaeology / History Society

Activities: monthly lectures, occasional trips, 2 small-scale excavations

Membership: 2 to 150

Other: £2,000 of excavation equipment

Insurance you should have:

• Employers’ Liability £10m limit – mandatory when utilising volunteers
• Legal Defence Costs (comes with Employers’ Liability cover)
• Public Liability / Products Liability £5m limit – protects you from damage to others or their property as a result of your actions

Optional additional insurance covers

• All risks cover for equipment – in storage, in transit and on-site / at place of work (temporary or permanent) – if you have equipment.  Or you might consider it not worth insuring as you are happy to cover replacement costs….and who would pinch it anyway?  Worth having a look at this link: http://archaeology-heritage-insurance.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/insurance-for-expensive-archaeological.html
• Directors and Offices / Trustees Indemnity – to protect your leaders from personal liability for exercising poor judgement on behalf of the group
• Personal Accident Insurance – a compensatory cover which will pay out to individuals in the event of very serious injury while working on your behalf

  

Small commercial excavation / survey business (sole trader or limited)

Activities: rescue archaeology, usually for local authority

Personnel: 1 – 10 full time, 0 – 10 part time

Vehicles: 1

Office: 3 computers, other contents

Remit: 80% UK, 20% Europe

Insurance you should have:

• Employers’ Liability £10m limit – mandatory when utilising volunteers
• Legal Defence Costs (comes with Employers’ Liability cover)
• Public Liability / Products Liability £5m limit – protects you from damage to others or their property as a result of your actions
• Office contents – your computers, records and other business equipment

Optional additional insurance covers:

• Professional Indemnity Insurance – often a requirement for working with local authorities.  This protects you against legal and compensation costs should your advice or abilities be proved to be inadequate
• All risks cover for equipment – in storage, in transit and on-site / at place of work (temporary or permanent) – if you have equipment.  Or you might consider it not worth insuring as you are happy to cover replacement costs….and who would pinch it anyway?  Worth also you having a look at this link: http://archaeology-heritage-insurance.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/insurance-for-expensive-archaeological.html
• Personal Accident Insurance – a compensatory cover which will pay out to employees / volunteers in the event of very serious injury while working on your behalf
• Commercial motor insurance where applicable

Larger commercial archaeology / heritage business

Activities: rescue archaeology, planning advice, for local authority or construction industry, training and development work with local history society and local education authority

Personnel: 40 full time

Vehicles: 4

Offices:  5, each with 10 computers, other contents

Remit: 60% UK, 40% Europe

Of course, the list includes all options - and maybe some others:

• Travel Insurance including cover for ‘light manual work’
• Employers’ Liability £10m limit
• Legal Defence Costs
• Public Liability / Products Liability £5m limit
• Buildings insurance
• Office contents
• All risks cover for equipment – in storage, in transit and on-site / at place of work (temporary or permanent)
• Directors and Offices / Trustees Indemnity
• Personal Accident Insurance
• Money and Assault
• Business Interruption
• Fidelity Guarantee
• Commercial motor insurance
• Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Cyber  / E-risks insurance

 Guess where you can get ‘fantastic’ quotes for this lot from?

Of course, all insurance purchases are a choice!  The best approach is to have a good search online to see what is out there, discuss with colleagues and contacts the covers which they have and discuss openly with an insurance broker (ie me!) what you do and how you do it.  That way you will have a clear view of what is out there and what you could be insured for / against.  Then the decision is yours..............

(None of the above is definitive!  There is just so much to say (about insurance!!), these are just my opinions.  Please call to discuss.)

Call me to discuss your insurance needs on 0208 2550617 / 07768 865983

Email quote@archaeology-insurance.co.uk

Follow on Twitter

Merry Christmas

Here’s one for the album!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Call me to discuss on 0208 2550617 / 07768 865983

Email quote@archaeology-insurance.co.uk

Follow on Twitter

Sailors & Marines help to excavate ancient burial site in Parco Forestale Di Calaforno

  

After a request from the lead archaeologist at the Ancient Greek Archaeology department of the University of Catania to the Naval Air Station Sigonella Public Affairs Office, Marines and Sailors from SPMAGTF Crisis Response-Africa helped excavate cave openings to an ancient burial site in Parco Forestale Di Calaforno (Park Forestry of Calaforno) in Ragusa, Sicily.

Read more…

Call me to discuss on 0208 2550617 / 07768 865983

Email quote@archaeology-insurance.co.uk

Follow on Twitter

What is Business Combined Insurance?

Business Combined or Commercial Combined insurance is a package of insurances combining the covers which are essential for your business.  These may include:

·         Protection for your business premises and contents

·         Equipment – your own, hired and for which you are responsible

·         Business Interruption

·         Business money on premises and in transit

·         Goods in transit

·         Your business liabilities – Public, Products and Employers

·         Personal Accident

Of course, you may choose those covers which are applicable to your business from this list.  The key ones for archaeology businesses / charities are equipment cover (on-site and in storage) and the liabilities.  Employers liability is the only one which is mandatory if you are employing people or utilising volunteers.

Professional Indemnity Insurance is generally offered separately because the insurers who underwrite it are often specialists which do not offer the broad range of covers within the business combined package.  However, it is often a good idea to have your PI insurance renewing on the same date as your business combined insurances – for ease of admin.

Over the coming weeks, we will investigate each aspect of Business Combined Insurance with specific reference to the archaeological products which we have created at archaeology-insurance.co.uk.  We will also look at the calculations behind the pricing mechanisms and look at ways of reducing the premiums through risk management.  We will also demystify the dreaded policy wording - which, like every archaeological document is full of acronyms and terms which are not fully understood outside of the industry!!

Call me to discuss your insurance needs on 0208 2550617 / 07768 865983

Email quote@archaeology-insurance.co.uk

Follow on Twitter

Review Heritage Daily’s Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2014

2014 has been a year of countless discoveries in archaeology, pushing the boundaries of scientific research and our understanding of the past. The following “Top Ten List” has been compiled by an analysis of trending stories with the most site visits from our audience on HeritageDaily, in conjunction with the overall magnitude of the discovery.

1 – New digital map reveals stunning hidden archaeology of Stonehenge

2 – Egyptologists identify tomb of royal children

3 – Two ancient Maya cities discovered in the jungle of southeastern Mexico

4 - ….

Read More

 

Add caption

Call me to discuss on 0208 2550617 / 07768 865983

Email quote@archaeology-insurance.co.uk

Follow on Twitter

Dispute brewing over search for King Alfred bones at Hyde Abbey in Winchester

A NEW dig that could find the bones of King Alfred the Great is moving closer.

But researchers are on a collision course with the charity that created the memorial garden that stands above the monarch’s grave in Winchester, theChronicle can reveal.

The Friends of Hyde Abbey Garden say they will oppose any excavation at the garden, which opened in 2003.

Read more....

Insurance for Expensive Archaeological Equipment On-Site

Insurers clearly don't like to provide cover against theft for equipment stored in a site hut or even in a site tent!  However, by taking some basic security precautions, cover can be extended to larger items like sieves such as this RGC Sieve Grader:



By locking the sieve to ground anchors, this client was able to get insurance cover for this expensive piece of kit.  The insurance included cover against theft while the site was unattended overnight.






Please call to discuss your insurance requirements 0208 2550617
Follow us on Twitter:  BizInsurer

Is Professional Indemnity Insurance Mandatory for Archaeologists?

Professional Indemnity Insurance is not a legal mandatory requirement, but many industry bodies and business sectors require it, for example, engineering, surveying and accountancy.  In addition, many professionals working on a contract basis will need PI insurance in order to be awarded contracts – Archaeologists and Archaeological businesses are likely to fall into this category.

Where you are providing advice, services or designs to a client, PI insurance will protect you against legal costs and compensation potentially resulting from your actions:

• Professional negligence (including poor advice or mistakes)
• Defamation and libel
• Loss of documents and  / or data
• Unintentional breach of copyright and / or confidentiality
• Loss of goods and / or money (your own or your client’s for which you are responsible)

Of course, your strive to provide the very best service, but, unfortunately, there is always a chance that you or one of your team might make a mistake.

With PI insurance you are insuring against the possibility of having to pay out thousands of pounds in compensation and legal fees to defend a claim – as well as the opportunity cost of time spent defending the allegations.

Do you need professional indemnity insurance?

If you provide your clients with advice or services, then yes.  Most archaeological consultancies do have PI insurance.  Most organisations engaging your services will require you to have PI insurance.

What limit of professional indemnity do I need?

If a specific contract requires PI insurance, it's likely that your client will specify a minimum amount.

Otherwise, you industry body may suggest a minimum requirement.  If not, it is worth considering a worst case scenario which might occur if you make a mistake in a piece of client work for a client.  In UK legal fees can be huge, and your client may incur additional losses too.  Levels of cover range from £100,000 and upwards.  Call me to discuss on 02082550617 / 07768 865983.

http://www.archaeology-insurance.co.uk/

Click here to follow us on Twitter