 |
Warning: This could be a low volume pinglist.
Ping if you see a pertinent thread. |
No message is necessary. To get on or get off this pinglist, freepmail here, with the appropriate subject. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted on 03/17/2007 5:08:24 PM PDT by blam
Source: New York University
Date: March 16, 2007
Tooth Decay Analysis Supports 'Out Of Africa' Theory Of Human Evolution
Science Daily — A New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) research team has found the first oral bacterial evidence supporting the dispersal of modern Homo sapiens out of Africa to Asia.
The team, led by Page Caufield, a professor of cariology and comprehensive care at NYUCD, discovered that Streptoccocus mutans, a bacterium associated with dental caries, has evolved along with its human hosts in a clear line that can be traced back to a single common ancestor who lived in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago.
S. mutans is transmitted from mothers to infants, and first appears in an infant’s mouth at about two years of age.
In his analysis of the bacterium, Caufield used DNA fingerprints and other biomarkers that scientists have also employed to trace human evolution back to a single common African ancestor, known as “ancestral Eve.”
“As humans migrated around the world and evolved into the different races and ethnicities we know today,” Caufield said, “this oral bacterium evolved with them in a simultaneous process called coevolution.”
“It is relatively easy to trace the evolution of S. mutans, since it reproduces through simple cell division,” says Caufield, who gathered over 600 samples of the bacterium on six continents over the past two decades. His final analysis focused on over 60 strains of S. mutans collected from Chinese and Japanese; Africans; African-Americans and Hispanics in the United States; Caucasians in the United States, Sweden, and Australia; and Amazon Indians in Brazil and Guyana.
“By tracing the DNA lineages of these strains,” Caufield said, “We have constructed an evolutionary family tree with its roots in Africa and its main branch extending to Asia. A second branch, extending from Asia back to Europe, traces the migration of a small group of Asians who founded at least one group of modern-day Caucasians.”
Additional branches, tracing the coevolution of humans and bacteria from Asia into North and South America, will be drawn in the next phase of Caufield’s analysis.
Caufield’s coauthors were Deepak Saxena, adjunct associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology; Yihong Li, associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology, both at NYU College of Dentistry; and David Fitch, an associate professor in NYU’s Department of Biology.
Caufield’s findings are reported in an article in the February issue of the Journal of Bacteriology.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by New York University.
I'm reminded of a statement in one of Professor Stephen Oppenheimer's book that said about 50% of Europeans can trace their DNA to one man in the Indus valley who made their way to Europe via the Middle East. He said the other (about) 50% could trace their DNA to a son of the same man who made their way to Europe via Russia a thousand years later.
GGG Ping.
ping.
|
Warning: This could be a low volume pinglist.
Ping if you see a pertinent thread. |
No message is necessary. To get on or get off this pinglist, freepmail here, with the appropriate subject. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good posting! Where does this now place the Garden of Eden?
Still in Missouri.
There is a lot of evidence coming in lately in a variety of related fields.
btt
"Human Evolution"?
Sure is. Someone should be able to put all the new info together and make a reasonably good book.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
I have to tell you I know nothing about this subject, but your threads seem to send me off into wonderful topics I've rarely taken the time to explore. I've been at it for over an hour (maybe two) already. Thank you!
YEC INTREP
Great, glad to hear and welcome to the GGG Ping list. I sometimes get lost in my old thread too, lots of fun until I run into something I said years ago that I've since learned is different.
"Human Evolution"?
Yeah, human evolution. Don't you know that God created evolution?
The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.