(Press-News.org) BETHESDA, MD – November 30, 2012 -- Using genetic analyses, scientists have discovered that Northern European populations—including British, Scandinavians, French, and some Eastern Europeans—descend from a mixture of two very different ancestral populations, and one of these populations is related to Native Americans. This discovery helps fill gaps in scientific understanding of both Native American and Northern European ancestry, while providing an explanation for some genetic similarities among what would otherwise seem to be very divergent groups. This research was published in the November 2012 issue of the Genetics Society of America's journal GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org).
According to Nick Patterson, first author of the report, "There is a genetic link between the paleolithic population of Europe and modern Native Americans. The evidence is that the population that crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia into the Americas more than 15,000 years ago was likely related to the ancient population of Europe."
To make this discovery, Patterson worked with Harvard Medical School Professor of Genetics David Reich and other colleagues to study DNA diversity, and found that one of these ancestral populations was the first farming population of Europe, whose DNA lives on today in relatively unmixed form in Sardinians and the people of the Basque Country, and in at least the Druze population in the Middle East. The other ancestral population is likely to have been the initial hunter-gathering population of Europe. These two populations were very different when they met. Today the hunter-gathering ancestral population of Europe appears to have its closest affinity to people in far Northeastern Siberia and Native Americans.
The statistical tools for analyzing population mixture were developed by Patterson and presented in a systematic way in the report. These tools are the same ones used in previous discoveries showing that Indian populations are admixed between two highly diverged ancestral populations and showing that Neanderthals contributed one to four percent of the ancestry of present-day Europeans. In addition, the paper releases a major new dataset that characterizes genetic diversity in 934 samples from 53 diverse worldwide populations.
"The human genome holds numerous secrets. Not only does it unlock important clues to cure human disease, it also reveal clues to our prehistoric past," said Mark Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of the journal GENETICS. "This relationship between humans separated by the Atlantic Ocean reveals surprising features of the migration patterns of our ancestors, and reinforces the truth that all humans are closely related."
###
CITATION: Nick Patterson, Priya Moorjani, Yontao Luo, Swapan Mallick, Nadin Rohland, Yiping Zhan, Teri Genschoreck, Teresa Webster, and David Reich
Ancient Admixture in Human History
Genetics November 2012 Volume 192, pp 1065-1093
FUNDING: U.S. National Science Foundation HOMINID grant 1032255, and by National Institutes of Health grant GM100233.
ABOUT GENETICS: Since 1916, GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org/) has covered high quality, original research on a range of topics bearing on inheritance, including population and evolutionary genetics, complex traits, developmental and behavioral genetics, cellular genetics, gene expression, genome integrity and transmission, and genome and systems biology. GENETICS, a peer-reviewed, peer-edited journal of the Genetics Society of America is one of the world's most cited journals in genetics and heredity.
ABOUT GSA: Founded in 1931, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) is the professional membership organization for scientific researchers, educators, bioengineers, bioinformaticians and others interested in the field of genetics. Its nearly 5,000 members work to advance knowledge in the basic mechanisms of inheritance, from the molecular to the population level. The GSA is dedicated to promoting research in genetics and to facilitating communication among geneticists worldwide through its conferences, including the biennial conference on Model Organisms to Human Biology, an interdisciplinary meeting on current and cutting edge topics in genetics research, as well as annual and biennial meetings that focus on the genetics of particular organisms, including C. elegans, Drosophila, fungi, mice, yeast, and zebrafish. GSA publishes GENETICS, a leading journal in the field and an online, open-access journal, G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics. For more information about GSA, please visit www.genetics-gsa.org. Also follow GSA on Facebook at facebook.com/GeneticsGSA and on Twitter @GeneticsGSA.
Native Americans and Northern Europeans more closely related than previously thought
Statistical tools used to show Neanderthals mixed with modern humans also show that Native Americans and Northern Europeans share a common ancestor, according to new research in the journal Genetics
2012-12-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenges
2012-12-01
West Nile virus, Lyme disease, dengue fever, and plague are examples of "vector-borne zoonotic diseases," caused by pathogens that naturally infect wildlife and are transmitted to humans by vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks.
According to Marm Kilpatrick, who studies the ecology of infectious diseases at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a broad range of human activities can affect the spread of zoonotic diseases. In an article in the December 1 issue of the British medical journal Lancet, Kilpatrick and coauthor Sarah Randolph of the University of Oxford describe ...
Ancient microbes survive beneath the icy surface of Antarctic lake
2012-12-01
Researchers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) describe in a new publication a viable community of bacteria that ekes out a living in a dark, salty and subfreezing environment beneath nearly 20 meters of ice in one of Antarctica's most isolated lakes.
The finding could have implications for the discovery of life in other extreme environments, including elsewhere in the solar system.
If, as the researchers postulate, the bacteria survive purely from chemical reactions, as opposed to drawing energy from the sun or other sources, "this gives us an entirely ...
Vitamin D tied to women's cognitive performance
2012-12-01
Two new studies appearing in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences show that vitamin D may be a vital component for the cognitive health of women as they age.
Higher vitamin D dietary intake is associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to research conducted by a team led by Cedric Annweiler, MD, PhD, at the Angers University Hospital in France.
Similarly, investigators led by Yelena Slinin, MD, MS, at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis found that low vitamin D levels among older women are associated ...
Geoscientists cite 'critical need' for basic research to unleash promising energy resources
2012-12-01
Developers of renewable energy and shale gas must overcome fundamental geological and environmental challenges if these promising energy sources are to reach their full potential, according to a trio of leading geoscientists. Their findings will be presented on Dec. 4, at 5:15 p.m. (PT), at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco in Room 102 of Moscone Center West .
"There is a critical need for scientists to address basic questions that have hindered the development of emerging energy resources, including geothermal, wind, solar and ...
NASA sees 'hot towers' in intensifying Typhoon Bopha
2012-12-01
Bopha intensified into a typhoon today, Nov. 30, as it continues to affect the islands in Micronesia in the western North Pacific Ocean. NASA's TRMM satellite captured rainfall data of Bopha and noticed "Hot Tower" thunderstorms as it was intensifying from a tropical storm into a typhoon.
When NASA and the Japanese Space Agency's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over Bopha twice on Nov. 29, and the later data showed that the area of heaviest rainfall had expanded and was still south of the center of circulation. The heaviest rainfall was occurring ...
Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenge
2012-12-01
Human activities are advancing the spread of vector-borne, zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease and dengue fever, report scientists publishing a series of papers today in the journal The Lancet.
Vector-borne zoonotic diseases result from disease-causing agents or pathogens that naturally infect wildlife, and are transmitted to humans by carriers such as mosquitoes and ticks. In short, they're diseases transmitted between animals and humans.
Widespread land-use change, globalization of trade and travel, and social upheaval are driving the emergence ...
ORNL develops lignin-based thermoplastic conversion process
2012-12-01
Turning lignin, a plant's structural "glue" and a byproduct of the paper and pulp industry, into something considerably more valuable is driving a research effort headed by Amit Naskar of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
In a cover article published in Green Chemistry, the research team describes a process that ultimately transforms the lignin byproduct into a thermoplastic – a polymer that becomes pliable above a specific temperature. Researchers accomplished this by reconstructing larger lignin molecules either through a chemical reaction with formaldehyde or by washing ...
Preventing 'Cyber Pearl Harbor'
2012-12-01
Cyber attacks that have long caused major work disruption and theft of private information are becoming more sophisticated with prolonged attacks perpetrated by organized groups. In September 2012, Bank of America, Citibank, the New York Stock Exchange, and other financial institutions were targets of attacks for more than five weeks. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta warned that the United States was facing the possibility of a "cyber-Pearl Harbor" and was increasingly vulnerable to foreign computer hackers who could disrupt the government, utility, transportation, and ...
NASA's TRMM satellite video reveals 2012 hurricane season rainfall
2012-12-01
The 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season was a busy one as there were 19 tropical cyclones. A new NASA animation using data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite known as TRMM shows rainfall from tropical cyclones in the western Atlantic, as measured from space.
The TRMM satellite has now been making highly accurate measurements of rainfall from space for fifteen years since it launched in Nov. 1997. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA.
TRMM can be used to calibrate rainfall estimates from other satellites. Those rainfall ...
In schizophrenia patients, auditory cues sound bigger problems
2012-12-01
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System have found that deficiencies in the neural processing of simple auditory tones can evolve into a cascade of dysfunctional information processing across wide swaths of the brain in patients with schizophrenia.
The findings are published in the current online edition of the journal Neuroimage.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by disturbed thought processes and difficulty in discerning real from unreal perceptions. Common symptoms include auditory ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Here’s what’s causing the Great Salt Lake to shrink, according to PSU study
Can DNA-nanoparticle motors get up to speed with motor proteins?
Childhood poverty and/or parental mental illness may double teens’ risk of violence and police contact
Fizzy water might aid weight loss by boosting glucose uptake and metabolism
Muscular strength and good physical fitness linked to lower risk of death in people with cancer
Recommendations for studying the impact of AI on young people's mental health proposed by Oxford researchers
Trump clusters: How an English lit graduate used AI to make sense of Twitter bios
Empty headed? Largest study of its kind proves ‘bird brain’ is a misnomer
Wild baboons not capable of visual self-awareness when viewing their own reflection
$14 million supports work to diversify human genome research
New study uncovers key mechanism behind learning and memory
Seeing the unseen: New method reveals ’hyperaccessible’ window in freshly replicated DNA
Extreme climate pushed thousands of lakes in West Greenland ‘across a tipping point,’ study finds
Illuminating an asymmetric gap in a topological antiferromagnet
Global public health collaboration benefits Americans, SHEA urges continued support of the World Health Organization
Astronomers thought they understood fast radio bursts. A recent one calls that into question.
AAAS announces addition of Journal of EMDR Practice and Research to Science Partner Journal program
Study of deadly dog cancer reveals new clues for improved treatment
Skin-penetrating nematodes have a love-hate relationship with carbon dioxide
Fewer than 1% of U.S. clinical drug trials enroll pregnant participants, study finds
A global majority trusts scientists, wants them to have greater role in policymaking, study finds
Transforming China’s food system: Healthy diets lead the way
Time to boost cancer vaccine work, declare UK researchers
Colorado State receives $326M from DOE/EPA to improve oil and gas operations and reduce methane emissions
Research assesses how infertility treatments can affect family and work relationships
New findings shed light on cell health: Key insights into the recycling process inside cells
Human papillomavirus infection kinetics revealed in new longitudinal study
Antibiotics modulate E. coli’s resistance to phages
Building sentence structure may be language-specific
Biotin may shield brain from manganese-induced damage, study finds
[Press-News.org] Native Americans and Northern Europeans more closely related than previously thoughtStatistical tools used to show Neanderthals mixed with modern humans also show that Native Americans and Northern Europeans share a common ancestor, according to new research in the journal Genetics