Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




ABOUT US
A new take on how evolution has shaped modern Europeans
by Staff Writers
London, UK (SPX) Aug 16, 2012


File image courtesy AFP.

Investigators reporting in the Cell Press journal Trends in Genetics say that new analytical techniques are changing long-held, simplistic views about the evolutionary history of humans in Europe. Their findings indicate that many cultural, climatic, and demographic events have shaped genetic variation among modern-day European populations and that the variety of those mechanisms is more diverse than previously thought.

Recent advances in paleogenetics are providing never-before-seen glimpses into the complex evolution of humans in Europe, helping researchers piece together the events that ultimately created what is now known as modern man.

Following the period when ice sheets were at their maximum extension across the earth (between 27,000 and 16,000 years ago), hunter-gatherer populations re-colonized most parts of Europe. Then around 8,000 years ago, the first farming populations appeared on the continent during the so-called Neolithic transition.

For several thousand years, two separate modes of life coexisted in Europe: hunter-gatherer populations continued to rely on wild food resources, while farming populations had an entirely different demographic profile and lifestyle that consisted of domesticated crops and livestock, pottery, housing, and storage technology.

For some decades, it was assumed that the genetic diversity of contemporary Europeans was shaped mainly during the Neolithic transition; however, it now appears that it was also affected both before and after this key event.

Moreover, the spread of farming is likely to have varied to a great extent by region, leading to varying impacts of migrating farmers' and local hunter-gatherers' genetic contributions to future populations.

"We are currently at a stage in which next-generation sequencing technologies, ancient DNA analyses, and computer simulation modeling allow us to obtain a much more accurate and detailed perspective on the nature and timing of major prehistoric processes such as the colonization of Europe by modern humans, the survival of human populations during the ice age, the Neolithic transition, and the rise and fall of complex societies and empires," says first author Dr. Ron Pinhasi, of Trinity College Dublin, in Ireland.

"The development of inter-disciplinary approaches is crucial to elaborate realistic models of human evolution." explains Dr. Mathias Currat.

"These methods and technologies hold great potential to shed new light on past genetic variation, the onset of major cultural and technological changes that left their imprint on past and present genomes, and potentially on the impact of changes in lifestyle and demography on the appearance of certain diseases and genetic disorders" says Dr. Pinhasi.

Dr. Pinhasi's coauthors include Dr. Mark Thomas, of University College London; Dr. Michael Hofreiter, of the University of York; Dr. Mathias Currat, of the University of Geneva, and Dr. Joachim Burger, of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Pinhasi et al.: "The genetic history of Europeans."

.


Related Links
Cell Press
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ABOUT US
New Kenyan fossils shed light on early human evolution
Nairobi, Kenya (SPX) Aug 15, 2012
Exciting new fossils discovered east of Lake Turkana confirm that there were two additional species of our genus - Homo - living alongside our direct human ancestral species, Homo erectus, almost two million years ago. The finds, announced in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, include a face, a remarkably complete lower jaw, and part of a second lower jaw. They were uncovered between 200 ... read more


ABOUT US
Two African boat migrants dead, 160 rescued off Malta

Deaths from landslides up to 10 times worse than thought

Iran says US quake aid was not in 'good faith'

Asia 'megacities' face infrastructure timebomb: ADB

ABOUT US
NTU scientist invents pocket living room TV

Ball Aerospace Incorporates Enhanced Data Communication for JPSS-1 Satellite

Researchers invent system for 3-D reconstruction of sparse facial hair and skin

Nano, photonic research gets boost from new 3-D visualization technology

ABOUT US
Warmwater shark runs aground on English channel coastline

Are Methane Hydrates Dissolving?

Global water sustainability flows through natural and human challenges

Oceans suffering from sea sickness, says study

ABOUT US
Predictions are in for Arctic sea ice low point

Melting ice opens Northwest Passage

Tropical climate in the Antarctic

Aerial photos reveal dynamic ice sheet

ABOUT US
Japan says food diplomacy will keep Hong Kong sweet

Plants exhibit a wide range of mechanical properties

Diversity keeps grasslands resilient to drought, climate change

Rooftop farms flourish in space-starved Hong Kong

ABOUT US
Tropical storm Gordon forms over Atlantic: US monitors

Relief as storm leaves Philippines

Seeds of hope amidst Philippine floods

Fresh water breathes fresh life into hurricanes

ABOUT US
Kenya keeps up search after Uganda army choppers crash

Heavy fighting near Liberian border

Eight Ugandans survive army helicopter crash; two dead

'Very little' done on Mali military action: defence minister

ABOUT US
A new take on how evolution has shaped modern Europeans

Neolithic Man: The First Lumberjack?

New Kenyan fossils shed light on early human evolution

Early human ancestors had more variable diet




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement