Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Lice DNA records the moment Europeans colonized the Americas
https://www.science.org/content/article/lice-dna-records-moment-europeans-colonized-americasLice DNA records the moment Europeans colonized the Americas
Genetics of head lice could offer a new avenue for exploring human migration and mixing
8 NOV 2023•2:00 PM ET•BYMICHAEL PRICE
When it comes to investigating the human story, scientists tend to focus on clues in our ancestors’ bones and artifacts. The tiny, bloodsucking parasites that infest our scalps? Not so much. But a new study published today in PLOS ONE suggests the genetics of head lice can shed light on when and where groups of humans split and came together in the past.
The authors present data suggesting European and American lice share a genetic affinity dating back to the European colonization of the Americas. Lice may even offer clues to ancient relationships not captured by human DNA or archaeological evidence, says Mikkel Winther Pedersen, a molecular paleoecologist at the University of Copenhagen who wasn’t involved in the study. “This could be a potential new angle to look at human migration and interactions.”
Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) cling to hairs and feast on blood from the scalp. They are an old foe; people around the world have complained about lice for thousands of years. Because head lice can only spread between people—and not from, say, human to rat or rat to human—they’re a good proxy for tracking human migrations, says the new study’s first author, Marina Ascunce, a molecular biologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[...]
Genetics of head lice could offer a new avenue for exploring human migration and mixing
8 NOV 2023•2:00 PM ET•BYMICHAEL PRICE
When it comes to investigating the human story, scientists tend to focus on clues in our ancestors’ bones and artifacts. The tiny, bloodsucking parasites that infest our scalps? Not so much. But a new study published today in PLOS ONE suggests the genetics of head lice can shed light on when and where groups of humans split and came together in the past.
The authors present data suggesting European and American lice share a genetic affinity dating back to the European colonization of the Americas. Lice may even offer clues to ancient relationships not captured by human DNA or archaeological evidence, says Mikkel Winther Pedersen, a molecular paleoecologist at the University of Copenhagen who wasn’t involved in the study. “This could be a potential new angle to look at human migration and interactions.”
Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) cling to hairs and feast on blood from the scalp. They are an old foe; people around the world have complained about lice for thousands of years. Because head lice can only spread between people—and not from, say, human to rat or rat to human—they’re a good proxy for tracking human migrations, says the new study’s first author, Marina Ascunce, a molecular biologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[...]
9 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Research alopecia areata. It's an auto-immune disorder that causes hair loss. The most extreme form is alopecia areata universalis which means the person has absolutely no hair anywhere. No eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair of any kind.
Both of my sons have it. Hmmm. Apparently my sons are super-evolved. 
