Louse genetics offer clues on human migrations

Genetic markers in clothing lice may reveal the tracks of global human migrations

2013-02-28

(Press-News.org) A new genetic analysis of human lice from across the world sheds light on the global spread of these parasites, their potential for disease transmission and insecticide resistance. The results are published February 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Marina S. Ascunce and colleagues from the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida.

Lice have been constant travel companions for humans ever since they left Africa and began colonizing other parts of the world. Since they have evolved along with humans, the geographic distribution of lice can reveal patterns of human migrations.

In the present research, the authors used available genomic data from human lice to identify genetic markers that can be used to determine which louse populations bred with one another. Their results improve our understanding of how lice have evolved resistance to insecticides, and can help improve methods of controlling these pests. These genetic markers can also be used to understand the differences between head and clothing lice, since the latter are capable of transmitting deadly bacterial diseases.

The authors suggest that these genetic markers may also reveal the tracks of human migrations across the globe, and can be used to test ideas about human evolution.

### Citation: Ascunce MS, Toups MA, Kassu G, Fane J, Scholl K, et al. (2013) Nuclear Genetic Diversity in Human Lice (Pediculus humanus) Reveals Continental Differences and High Inbreeding among Worldwide Populations. PLoS ONE 8(2): e57619. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057619

Financial Disclosure: This work was supported in part by grants to DLR from the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov: DEB 0717165 and DEB 0845392) and the University of Florida (www.research.ufl.edu: SEED Fund Program). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057619

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Higher indoor humidity inactivates flu virus particles

2013-02-28

Higher humidity levels indoors can significantly reduce the infectivity of influenza virus particles released by coughing, according to research published February 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by John Noti and colleagues from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers tested the effect of relative humidity on the capacity of flu virus released in a simulated 'cough' to re-infect cells. They found that an hour after being released in a room at a relative humidity of 23% or less, 70-77% ...

Heading a soccer ball may affect cognitive performance

2013-02-28

Sports-related head injuries are a growing concern, and new research suggests that even less forceful actions like 'heading' a soccer ball may cause changes in performance on certain cognitive tasks, according to a paper published February 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Anne Sereno and colleagues from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The researchers tested the effects of non-injurious head-to-ball impacts on cognitive function using a tablet-based app. They found that high school female soccer players were significantly slower than ...

Wii-playing surgeons may improve performance on laparoscopic procedures

2013-02-28

Laparoscopic surgeons may improve certain aspects of surgical performance by regularly playing on a Nintendo® Wii, according to research published February 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Gregorio Patrizi and colleagues from the University of Rome, Italy. Considering the technical skills required to perform laparascopic procedures, several studies aim to evaluate and improve training for surgeons outside the operating room. Previous studies have assessed the effect of playing video games on hand-eye coordination and spatial attention. In the current research, ...

Children with autism show increased positive social behaviors when animals are present

2013-02-28

The presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Marguerite E O'Haire and colleagues from the University of Queensland, Australia. The authors compared how 5-13 year old children with ASD interacted with adults and typically-developing peers in the presence of two guinea pigs compared to toys. They found that in the presence of animals, children with ASD demonstrated more social behaviors like talking, looking ...

Nut-cracking monkeys use shapes to strategize their use of tools

2013-02-28

VIDEO: This video shows two episodes in which a bearded capuchin monkey places and strikes a nut with the Stop meridian marked with a black line or a black-hatched line, and... Click here for more information. Bearded capuchin monkeys deliberately place palm nuts in a stable position on a surface before trying to crack them open, revealing their capacity to use tactile information to improve tool use. The results are published February 27 in the open access journal PLOS ...

Ectopic eyes function without connection to brain

2013-02-28

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (February 27, 2013) – For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain. Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences used a frog model to shed new light – literally – on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine, bioengineering, and sensory augmentation research. "One of the big challenges is to understand how the brain and body adapt to large changes in organization," says Douglas ...

Infusion of stem cells and specially generated T-cells from same donor improves leukemia survival

2013-02-28

SEATTLE – In a significant advance for harnessing the immune system to treat leukemias, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for the first time have successfully infused large numbers of donor T-cells specific for a key anti-leukemic antigen to prolong survival in high-risk and relapsed leukemia patients after stem cell transplantation. Both the stem cells for transplant and the T-cells came from the same matched donors. Reporting results of a pilot clinical trial in the Feb. 27 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers describe ...

Risk of heart attack death may increase after adult sibling's death

2013-02-28

Your risk of dying from a heart attack may increase after your adult sibling dies, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association. "Death of a family member is so stressful that the resulting coping responses could lead to a heart attack," said Mikael Rostila, Ph.D., lead author of the study and associate professor at Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. "But our results suggest that this association between the loss of a sibling and having a heart attack is more likely to occur some years after bereavement." The ...

Researchers look to breath to identify stress

2013-02-28

The perennial stress-buster – a deep breath – could become stress-detector, claims a team of researchers from the UK. According to a new pilot study, published today, 28 February, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Breath Research, there are six markers in the breath that could be candidates for use as indicators of stress. The researchers hope that findings such as these could lead to a quick, simple and non-invasive test for measuring stress; however, the study, which involved just 22 subjects, would need to be scaled-up to include more people, over a wider range of ...

Modified protein could become first effective treatment for vitiligo

2013-02-28

MAYWOOD, Il. – Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers have developed a genetically modified protein that dramatically reverses the skin disorder vitiligo in mice, and has similar effects on immune responses in human skin tissue samples. The modified protein is potentially the first effective treatment for vitiligo, which causes unsightly white patches on the face, hands and other parts of the body. Loyola University Chicago has submitted a patent application for the protein, and researchers are seeking regulatory approval and funding for a ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

The U-shaped relationship between admission peripheral oxygen saturation and all-cause hospital mortality in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective analysis using