According to an article in New Scientist Magazine, Europe’s
pool of ancestors may be much less than what was previously believed. A new
analysis of the human genome suggests that 60,000 years ago, just 50 people may
have founded Europe's entire population, according to studies by David Reich and
colleagues at the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Scientists had previously believed that today's 500 million European
residents descended from about 10,000 people who left Africa around 100,000
years ago.
The new findings could make it easier to identify the genes that
cause human diseases, because it means it will be easier to track what sections
of the genome are different between individuals—sections that might carry
genes that contribute to a disease or condition. "I'm very, very excited
about this," Eric Lander of the Whitehead Institute told New Scientist. The
estimate came from studies that follow genetic variations, called single
nucleotide polymorphisms, which become separated in the genetic shuffling that
occurs with every new generation. The method is believed to be more accurate
than older methods to trace human ancestry, which rely on mutation rates.
You can read the entire article online at: www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999721.
Let’s hope the magazine’s scientific reporting is more
accurate than their use of the English language. Note the sentence in the
article that says "Scientists previously believed that the 500 million
people that live in Europe today are ancestors of about 10,000 people who left
Africa around 100,000 years ago."
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Dick Eastman Online
