Study: Humans Neared Extinction

[one...two...tree 2,762]

By AP/RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

(WASHINGTON) — Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests.

The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.

The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.

"This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said in a statement. "Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."

Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Previous studies using mitochondrial DNA — which is passed down through mothers — have traced modern humans to a single "mitochondrial Eve," who lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

The migrations of humans out of Africa to populate the rest of the world appear to have begun about 60,000 years ago, but little has been known about humans between Eve and that dispersal.

The new study looks at the mitochondrial DNA of the Khoi and San people in South Africa which appear to have diverged from other people between 90,000 and 150,000 years ago.

The researchers led by Doron Behar of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel and Saharon Rosset of IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., and Tel Aviv University concluded that humans separated into small populations prior to the Stone Age, when they came back together and began to increase in numbers and spread to other areas.

Eastern Africa experienced a series of severe droughts between 135,000 and 90,000 years ago and the researchers said this climatological shift may have contributed to the population changes, dividing into small, isolated groups which developed independently.

Paleontologist Meave Leakey, a Genographic adviser, commented: "Who would have thought that as recently as 70,000 years ago, extremes of climate had reduced our population to such small numbers that we were on the very edge of extinction."

Today more than 6.6 billion people inhabit the globe, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The research was funded by the National Geographic Society, IBM, the Waitt Family Foundation, the Seaver Family Foundation, Family Tree DNA and Arizona Research Labs.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,...1734841,00.html

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Interesting. I participated in the Genographic Project. My mitochrondrial DNA shows that my maternal ancestors left East Africa about 80,000 years ago.

For others who might be interested in learning more about the project, here is the link: https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html

Edited April 27, 2008 by Kathryn41

[SaadBell 0]

Interesting article, of course how do the religious population feel about that. It kinds of goes against the 7 day creating the world thing.

[Krikit 1,163]

Interesting. I participated in the Genographic Project. My mitochrondrial DNA shows that my maternal ancestors left East Africa about 80,000 years ago.

For others who might be interested in learning more about the project, here is the link: https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html

My brother has done the paternal lineage and my sister is doing the maternal. Our Paternal Ancient Ancestry Haplogroup R1b first arrived in Europe from West Asia during the Upper Paleolithic period (35,000-40,000 years ago).... showing a Germanic / Roman / Spanish background for my father. (We are from England.) It will be interesting to see the maternal line.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I heard about this a few years ago.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Interesting. I participated in the Genographic Project. My mitochrondrial DNA shows that my maternal ancestors left East Africa about 80,000 years ago.

For others who might be interested in learning more about the project, here is the link: https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html

My brother has done the paternal lineage and my sister is doing the maternal. Our Paternal Ancient Ancestry Haplogroup R1b first arrived in Europe from West Asia during the Upper Paleolithic period (35,000-40,000 years ago).... showing a Germanic / Roman / Spanish background for my father. (We are from England.) It will be interesting to see the maternal line.

Interesting! I am Haplotype I on my maternal side. They moved first to West Africa, then as the glaciers retreated began to move north into the eastern Mediterannean area in the 2nd large wave of 'out of Africa', and apparently co-existed with Neanderthals in the area as recently as 60,000 years ago. Members of my specific Haplogroup trace back to a woman who is the basic 'mother' of the people who populated northern Eurasia during the Middle Upper Paleolithic. My recent maternal ancestry is predominantly Scottish.

I wish my brother would do the paternal ancestry so I would have that as well:-). (Women can only do the mitochondrial DNA which traces the maternal ancestry)

Edited April 27, 2008 by Kathryn41

[Nagishkaw 510]

By AP/RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

(WASHINGTON) — Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests.

The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.

The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.

"This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said in a statement. "Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."

Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Previous studies using mitochondrial DNA — which is passed down through mothers — have traced modern humans to a single "mitochondrial Eve," who lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

The migrations of humans out of Africa to populate the rest of the world appear to have begun about 60,000 years ago, but little has been known about humans between Eve and that dispersal.

The new study looks at the mitochondrial DNA of the Khoi and San people in South Africa which appear to have diverged from other people between 90,000 and 150,000 years ago.

The researchers led by Doron Behar of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel and Saharon Rosset of IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., and Tel Aviv University concluded that humans separated into small populations prior to the Stone Age, when they came back together and began to increase in numbers and spread to other areas.

Eastern Africa experienced a series of severe droughts between 135,000 and 90,000 years ago and the researchers said this climatological shift may have contributed to the population changes, dividing into small, isolated groups which developed independently.

Paleontologist Meave Leakey, a Genographic adviser, commented: "Who would have thought that as recently as 70,000 years ago, extremes of climate had reduced our population to such small numbers that we were on the very edge of extinction."

Today more than 6.6 billion people inhabit the globe, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The research was funded by the National Geographic Society, IBM, the Waitt Family Foundation, the Seaver Family Foundation, Family Tree DNA and Arizona Research Labs.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,...1734841,00.html

[Scott & Lai 12]

Interesting article, of course how do the religious population feel about that. It kinds of goes against the 7 day creating the world thing.

*Member of the "religious population" chiming in*

I don't really have a problem with it. It doesn't actually go against the Genesis 6-day creation account, though I don't think that a 144-hour (in the modern sense of an hour) creation week is necessarily the best or the only way of understanding Genesis 1. It does go against dating the Creation to around 6,000 years ago, but Genesis doesn't actually tell us how long ago Adam and Eve were created. Many Christians who believe that the Bible is truly God's Word, not merely a human invention, believe that Mankind, and the Earth itself, are far older than a few thousand years.

[mawilson 2,133]

Too bad the drought didn't finish the job.

[Nasturtium 500]

By AP/RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

(WASHINGTON) — Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests.

The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.

The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.

"This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said in a statement. "Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."

Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Previous studies using mitochondrial DNA — which is passed down through mothers — have traced modern humans to a single "mitochondrial Eve," who lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

The migrations of humans out of Africa to populate the rest of the world appear to have begun about 60,000 years ago, but little has been known about humans between Eve and that dispersal.

The new study looks at the mitochondrial DNA of the Khoi and San people in South Africa which appear to have diverged from other people between 90,000 and 150,000 years ago.

The researchers led by Doron Behar of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel and Saharon Rosset of IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., and Tel Aviv University concluded that humans separated into small populations prior to the Stone Age, when they came back together and began to increase in numbers and spread to other areas.

Eastern Africa experienced a series of severe droughts between 135,000 and 90,000 years ago and the researchers said this climatological shift may have contributed to the population changes, dividing into small, isolated groups which developed independently.

Paleontologist Meave Leakey, a Genographic adviser, commented: "Who would have thought that as recently as 70,000 years ago, extremes of climate had reduced our population to such small numbers that we were on the very edge of extinction."

Today more than 6.6 billion people inhabit the globe, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The research was funded by the National Geographic Society, IBM, the Waitt Family Foundation, the Seaver Family Foundation, Family Tree DNA and Arizona Research Labs.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,...1734841,00.html

Yep. All your bolded stuff is correct. There is serious debate bording on vicious at times and outright war at other times within the community. Never really go with what makes popular news anyway. Those anthropologists, etc are usually the ones with the most flair and sexy research, but the least actual ammount of science.

[Niels Bohr 72]

This is old news. There was some geo-significant event that have annihilated 90% of the world's population. This explains why over 90% of our genes are the same as other people (many people lookalike). For examples, I know everyone knows about this that sometimes when you see a stranger, they resemble someone you know; however, they are totally unrelated to that person.

[Ban Hammer 12,829]

This is old news. There was some geo-significant event that have annihilated 90% of the world's population. This explains why over 90% of our genes are the same as other people (many people lookalike). For examples, I know everyone knows about this that sometimes when you see a stranger, they resemble someone you know; however, they are totally unrelated to that person.

or just maybe, way back in everyone's family tree we had a ####### in common.