Oldest Malarial Mummies Shed Light on Disease Evolution

National Geographic ^ | October 30, 2008 | Andrew Bossone

[Soliton]

The oldest known cases of malaria have been discovered in two 3,500-year-old Egyptian mummies, scientists announced.

Researchers in Germany studied bone tissue samples from more than 90 mummies found in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, now called Luxor.

Two adult mummies from separate tombs had tissues containing ancient DNA from a parasite known to cause malaria, the researchers announced at a conference last week.

In addition, a separate team at University College London recently found that a pair of 9,000-year-old skeletons—a woman and a baby—discovered off the coast of Israel were infected with the oldest known cases of tuberculosis in modern humans.

Both finds contribute to the burgeoning field of paleopathology, or the study of ancient diseases.

[jalisco555]

Thank you for posting this. As a pathologist I find this sort of thing fascinating. I remember reading once that if malaria had never existed the population of the world would be twice what it is today.

[allmendream]

Human evolution has also been shaped by malaria. The high incidence of sickle cell anemia in areas where malaria is endemic is best explained by the resistance a hetero-zygote for the sickle cell anemia gene has to malaria.

Where malaria is endemic many adults are hetero-zygotes for the trait. Traditionally their children would have a 25% chance of having sickle cell anemia and end up dying of anemia; a 25% chance of being homozygous for “normal” hemoglobin and end up dying of malaria; and a 50% chance of being heterozygous like their parents and being resistant to malaria and having no problems with anemia.

Quite a price to pay.

[SunkenCiv]

Egyptian Mummies Yield Earliest Evidence of Malaria
Discovery News | Thursday, October 23, 2008 | Rossella Lorenzi
Posted on 10/28/2008 8:03:16 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2118171/posts

[SunkenCiv]

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[Soliton]

Quite a price to pay.

So big a brain must hurt! I look to you as a role model of faith merging with science.

[allmendream]

I think I am fairly typical of scientists. I know my subject (sickle cell anemia is a ‘textbook example’ of antagonistic pleotropy, human evolution, etc), I have faith in God, and have no problem reconciling my faith in God with my knowledge of science.

This is also fairly typical among intelligent theologians as well, including the recent Popes and most Christian denominations.

I think people are drawn to this subject from either extreme. I am drawn to it because it is my subject of expertise.