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☆ Origins of humanity’s love of carbs revealed, new study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-18 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The origin of modern humans’ long-standing love affair with carbs may predate our existence as a species, according to a new study. The study revealed these genes duplicated long before the advent of agriculture. Without amylase, humans would not be able to digest foods such as potatoes, pasta, rice or bread. The research also revealed duplication of the AMY1 gene existed in the genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans, an extinct hominin first discovered in 2010 about whom relatively little is known. “This study’s genomic sleuthing is helping to finally time stamp some of those major milestones, and it is revealing tantalizing clues about humanity’s long love affair with starch.”

Persons: ”, Feyza Yilmaz, —, sapiens, AMY1, Taylor Hermes, wasn’t, ” Hermes, “, Christina Warinner, John L, Loeb, Warinner Organizations: CNN, The Jackson Laboratory, University of Buffalo, Jackson Laboratory, University of Arkansas, Social Sciences, Harvard University Locations: Farmington , Connecticut, New York

☆ How Denisovans survived and thrived on ‘the roof of the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We know that the Denisovans lived, occupied the cave and this Tibetan plateau for such a long time, we really want to know, how did they live there? Analysis of bone fragments unearthed during excavations at Baishiya Karst Cave have revealed what animals Denisovans butchered, ate and processed. Traces of Denisovan DNA found in present-day people suggest the ancient species likely once lived across much of Asia. Many of the bones recovered from Baishiya Karst Cave, like this spotted hyena vertebra, contain traces of human activities such as cut marks. Unlike Denisova Cave, which was occupied by early modern humans and Neanderthals as well as Denisovans, current evidence suggests that Denisovans were the only group of humans to live at Baishiya Karst Cave, Zhang said.

Persons: CNN — Denisovans, Denisovans, ”, Dongju Zhang, Zhang, Denisovan, Frido Welker, Xia Li, Welker, Dongju, Samantha Brown, ” Brown Organizations: CNN, Lanzhou University, Globe, Paleoanthropology, University of Copenhagen, Mass, Junior, Palaeoproteomics, Germany’s University of Tübingen Locations: Xiahe, China’s Gansu, —, China, Lanzhou, Cave, Altai, Siberia, Asia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Ganjia, Australia

☆ On the Trail of the Denisovans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

March 2, 2024Neanderthals may have vanished 40,000 years ago, but they are no strangers to us today. But there’s no such familiarity with the Denisovans, a group of humans that split from the Neanderthal line and survived for hundreds of thousands of years before going extinct. In a new review paper, anthropologists tally all of the fossils that have been clearly identified as Denisovan since the first discovery in 2010. Nevertheless, many scientists are growing increasingly fascinated by Denisovans. “I find Denisovans way more interesting,” said Emilia Huerta-Sánchez, a geneticist at Brown University.

Persons: Kevin Bacon, ”, Janet Kelso, Max Planck, Denisovans, Emilia Huerta, Sánchez Organizations: Max, Max Planck Institute, Brown University Locations: Africa, Leipzig, Germany

In the past few months alone, researchers have linked Neanderthal DNA to a serious hand disease, the shape of people's noses and various other human traits. Research shows some African populations have almost no Neanderthal DNA, while those from European or Asian backgrounds have 1% to 2%. For example, Neanderthal DNA has been linked to auto-immune diseases like Graves’ disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The list goes on: Research has linked Neanderthal genetic variants to skin and hair color, behavioral traits, skull shape and Type 2 diabetes. Researchers found the skulls of domesticated dogs in Homo sapiens sites much further back in time than anyone had found before.

Persons: We’re, ”, Mary Prendergast, Hugo Zeberg, Svante Paabo, Zeberg, It's, Graves, Homo sapiens, Chris Stringer, “, Rick Potts, Paabo, ” Zeberg, Raghavan, Potts, Denisovans, sapiens, Eleanor Scerri, Prendergast, Janet Young, Pat Shipman, John Hawks Organizations: Rice University, Karolinska, Research, Smithsonian Institution, University of Chicago, Germany’s Max Planck Institute, Geoanthropology, Canadian Museum, University of Wisconsin -, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Sweden, Melanesia, New Guinea, Fiji, Africa, Europe, Asia, London, Eurasia, Germany’s, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Our species, Homo sapiens — with our complex thoughts and deep emotions — were the only true humans to ever walk the Earth. A study last week found early humans were building structures with wood before H. sapiens evolved. This ability to read ancient DNA revolutionized the field, and it is constantly improving. He specializes in creating lifelike models of ancient humans for museums, including the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History, in hopes of helping public perception catch up to the science. They haven't been able to gather much ancient DNA from Africa, where H. sapiens first evolved, because it has been degraded by heat and moisture.

Persons: ”, Chris Stringer, ” Stringer, sapiens, Rick Potts, naledi, heidelbergensis, John Shea, “, Svante Paabo, Paabo, Bence Viola, Potts, Shea, ’ ” Shea, let’s, Janet Young, Young, John Gurche, Gurche, ” Gurche, “ They’re, they’re, it’s, haven't, we’ll, Mary Prendergast Organizations: Stony Brook University, University of Toronto, Canadian Museum, Smithsonian, American Museum of, Rice University, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Africa, Europe, Indonesia, Asia, Swedish, East, Southeast Asia

☆ The early ancestors of humans were reduced to 1,300 individuals and came close to extinction, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Early human ancestors faced near-extinction between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, scientists say. An extreme climate event might have caused the evolutionary bottleneck. The population of our ancestors might have been reduced to just 1,280 individuals for about 117,000 years. For a population of that size, you just need one bad climate event, an epidemic, a volcanic eruption and you're gone." This population decline occurred about the same time human ancestors split from Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Persons: Giorgio Manzi, Chris Stringer, Stringer, heidelbergensis, Manzi Organizations: Service, Guardian, Sapienza University of Rome Locations: Wall, Silicon, London, Africa, Eurasia

☆ An ancient skull unlike any human ever seen is baffling scientists and could rewrite the story of our evolution
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An ancient skull found in China is like nothing scientists have ever seen. If it is an undiscovered human ancestor, it could rewrite the story of human evolution. The skull has facial features that are similar to early modern humans, which scientists think began to branch away from Homo erectus between 750,000 to 550,000 years ago. Human history is messier than we thoughtThis isn't the first time human remains have shaken up the neat evolutionary path that is thought to have led to humans. Findings of archaic human remains in Israel and Greece over the past few years dating back about 200,000 years also suggested human ancestors may have left Africa a lot earlier than previously thought.

Persons: Xiujie Wu, Maayan Harel, sapiens, Will Oliver Organizations: Service, Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Hualongdong, East China, East, East Asia, Saharan Africa, Morocco, Israel, Greece, Africa, London, Britain

☆ How interbreeding between humans and our Neanderthal cousins 40,000 years ago affects our health today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Interbreeding with Homo sapiens helps to explain why millions can't straighten their fingers. There is also a Neanderthal gene variant that increases the risk of somebody dying from COVID-19. The study evidences that "intermingling" from Neanderthals and our Homo sapiens ancestors is consequential in examining the prevalence of certain diseases, researchers said. No more than 7% of the human genome is unique to Homo sapiens, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. Brain development and function are what sets Homo sapiens apart, experts explained.

Persons: sapiens, —, Hugo Zeberg, Nikola Solic, Zeberg Organizations: Service, British Society for Surgery, Karolinska Institute, Times Locations: COVID, Europe, Finland, Africa, Sweden, Asia

☆ Early humans left Africa earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

DNA analysis of present-day human populations has supported the hypothesis that early modern humans left Africa around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, and archaeologists have thought our early ancestors likely followed coastlines and islands through southeast Asia toward Australia. However, a growing number of older human remains discovered in China and the Levant show that this chapter in the human story is more complicated than first thought. The cave was occupied by early humans for about 50,000 years, archaeologists believe. At a nearby site, known as Cobra Cave, a tooth believed to belong to a Denisovan, an elusive early human, has been found. The team expects to unearth more human fossils from the region.

Persons: sapiens, ”, Kira Westaway, ” Westaway, Westaway, Tam Pa Ling, Tam Pà Ling Organizations: CNN, Macquarie University, UNESCO, Heritage, Nature Communications Locations: Africa, Laos, Australia, Asia, China, Tam Pa, Sumatra, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia

☆ Some Neanderthals couldn't smell their own stink, suggests a new study recreating early humans' noses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, one group of a related species — Neanderthals — developed a mutation that could have spared them the smell of their own body odors. It's a popular idea that humans have a bad sense of smell, as compared with dogs, for instance. Will Oliver/PA Images/Getty"We have to really understand ourselves within our own context," rather than comparing humans to dogs or monkeys, as previous research on smell receptors has done, Hoover said. To Hoover's surprise, the Neanderthals, Denisovan, and humans all appeared to have the same repertoire of smells. More research like it, with more samples of ancient genomes, could reveal a clearer picture of Neanderthal and Denisovan life.

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