Category Archives: Transhuman News

Enlarge / The entrance to the cave where the Neanderthal thigh bone was found in 1937.

Modern humans and Neanderthals have a confusing genetic relationship. One set of data suggests our two species diverged around 650,000 years agobut other clues point to an ongoing close (that is, sexual) relationship between our ancestors that persisteduntil around 300,000 years ago. This is made all the more muddled by the fact that Neanderthals look like they were living in Eurasia 300,000 years ago whileour own ancestors were still in Africa. And then the two groups clearly intermingled once humans did leave Africa.

One way to account for all this contradictory information is to suggest that another group of humans left Africa sometime between the Neanderthals' departure and our own. An analysis of Neanderthal DNA, published this week in Nature Communications, adds new weight to this hypothesis.

When people talk about DNA, most often theyre talking about nuclear DNA. Thats the DNA that combines genetic material from a mother and a father and sits in the nucleus of each cell. But the mitochondrialittle energy-producing blobsthat sit inside cellshave their own DNA, which comes exclusively from the mother. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a fantastically useful tool for understanding evolutionary lineages, in part because there's so much more of it that it's still detectable in very old samples.

The picture painted by nuclear DNA(nDNA) is that, between 765,000 and 550,000 years ago, our ancestors in Africa diverged into two groups. One group would eventually lead to our own species, although we wouldn'tmakean appearance until around 200,000 years ago. The other group would lead to Neanderthals and the closely related Denisovans. This proto-Neanderthal/Denisovan group left Africa for Eurasia at some point; sometime around 430,000 years ago, they diverged into distinct Neanderthals and Denisovans.

But the picture painted by mtDNA is different. Neanderthal mtDNA is more similar to modern humans than it is to Denisovan mtDNA. And the divergence date between us and them, when estimated based on mtDNA, is much more recentbetween 498,000 and 295,000 years ago.

Some researchers have suggested that you can explain this mixed genetic evidence if Neanderthals interbred with another, more recent African group of humans. This would provide them with different mtDNA after they split from Denisovans. And that, in turn, means that there must have been humans, closely related to our own species, who left Africa for Europe far earlier than previously suspected.

Some archaeological evidence supports this scenario: African and Eurasian technologies in this time period have some important similarities. Theres also corroborating evidence from very old Neanderthal DNA from Spain, which has Denisovan-like mtDNA. That matches up with the picture that Neanderthals started out with both nuclear and mtDNA closely related to their cousin Denisovans, but had their mtDNA replaced through breeding with other humans.

But there are some plausibility issues here. We know that our own species interbred with Neanderthals more recently, so thats not a problembut could low-level interbreeding on this small scale really result in such drastic changes to Neanderthal mtDNA, without leaving much of a mark on its nuclear genome? It also hasnt been possible to narrow down the window of whenall this interbreeding might have happened. This makes assessing the feasibility of the mtDNA-replacement scenario difficult.

A Neanderthal thigh bone from southwestern Germany has offered up some answers. The bone has been dubbed HST, after the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave where it was found in 1937. Itis the only human fossil from this region and time. Of course, a bone that has been handled by humans for that long is bound to have been subject to genetic contamination, and the researchers accounted for this in their analyses.

HST seems to have lived around 124,000 years ago, making this the second-oldest Neanderthal mtDNA to have been analyzed. The evidence pointed toward HSTs family line having diverged from other Neanderthal groups around 270,000 years ago.

That helps to narrow down the time frame of the genetic mixture with African humans: the mixing must have happened before 270,000 years ago. This suggests that the early migration out of Africa must have happened sometime before that. Given this timeframe, the researchers calculated that a huge mtDNA shift, based on low-level interbreeding, was, in fact, plausible.

Its a new point in favor of this early-migration hypothesis, but a lot more evidence is needed. Thestory is inordinately difficult to piece together because data is so scarce. Analyzing genomic DNAfrom the HST thigh bone would be fantastic, if it were possible, but modern contamination and the decay of itsincredibly ancient DNA make this a challenging prospect. We might get no more stories from HSTwell have to look to other Neanderthals for new puzzle pieces.

Nature Communication, 2016. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16046 (About DOIs).

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Neanderthal DNA suggests yet another wave of human migration out of Africa - Ars Technica

TULSA -- What if your DNA could tell you about how to lose weight, or what foods and exercise are best for your health?

2 Works for You's Chera Kimikofollowed 98.5KVOO's Sunny Leigh for two months after she took the DNAFit test to see if knowing her DNA helped her shed the pounds for food.

Leigh, the bubbly morning personality on KVOO has no trouble getting people through their morning drive. But she does have trouble navigating her own health and weight loss goals.

"I weighed 130 pounds when I moved here," Leigh said. "I still had a big butt and big legs and I always fought that"

Dr. Mark Sherwood with Functional Medical Institute said the answer could be in her DNA.

"DNA makes up more than 20,000 genes, each carry instructions for a single protein," Sherwood said. "Together they determine how we look and how our bodies function."

First things first, Leigh went to see Dr. Sherwood, where doctors got her health information and sent if off to a lab.

Life-changing information for her was revealed on live radio.

"I've got to be honest, I am absolutely horrified because it seems like I have every possible bad thing against me," Leigh said. "But you said it is really not as terrible as I'm making it?"

"No, look at this as a standpoint of empowerment," Sherwood said. "Just because the genes say 'X' does not mean that is your destiny.

The DNAFit test let Leigh know what workouts are best for her DNA.

"You are a dominant endurance person," Sherwood said. "You don't need to go hard, you need to keep your heart rate below about 120-135, where you can carry on a conversation."

So Leigh hit the gym four days a week, doing 20 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of leg, arm, abs and back exercises. Next, she changed up her eating habits to cut out things shedoesn't metabolize.

"Red meat, sugar, dairy, alcohol and caffeine, all a big no-no," Sherwood said.

"I am wondering what food there is left for me to eat," Leigh said.

Now, it's all about berries and lots of greens.

"According to my genetics, I need to be eating a whole lot more fruits and vegetables," Leigh said.

Halfway through the program in June, she checked in with Dr. Michelle Sherwood.

"It is going to tell us quite a few things," Sherwood said. "Your weight, it is going to tell us about your lean body mass, the percentage of fat you carry on your frame and your cellular health."

In one month, Leigh lost eight pounds of fat and gained four pounds of muscle. But the changes haven't come easy.

"Coffee has been really hard," Leigh said. "One of the big challenges, according to my DNA, is I don't process caffeine so I have gone to half calf. Eating healthy has been a lot more expensive than eating junk food so that has been a hit to my wallet. Having to buy all the fresh fruit and produce and fresh vegetable and fish, but in the long run it is a lot cheaper than having diabetes."

The payoff was worth it.

By July, she lost nine to 10 pounds of fat, and went up about eight pounds in lean body mass.

The DNAFit test at the institute costs about $380, but it can be paid for with a health savings account. The test can also show how people metabolize minerals and vitamins.

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Weight loss program tailored to your DNA - kjrh.com

Parking bansigns installed on the Near West Sideaimed at curbing gang parties have been vandalized before the ban was set to begin. View Full Caption

DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

NEAR WEST SIDE Parking bansigns installed on the Near West Sideaimed at curbing gang parties have been vandalized before the ban was scheduled to begin.

Part of a larger plan to keep partiers from parking near Touhy-HerbertPark, the residential parking restrictions are set to go into effect July 24. But just days after the signs were installed, at least one sign nearWestAdams Street and SouthHamilton Avenue nearthe defunct Jelly Bean Garden was pushed to the ground, and at least one other parking sign was removed, neighbors reported.

The signs were installed June 27 and were torn down by Friday night, said one neighbor,who has asked not to be named for fear of retribution. Neighbors have reported the damaged signs to the city's 311 non-emergencycall center, he said.

"It seems like it was done in protest," said the man, who has lived in the area for six years. "I think the people who may have removed the signs are really just looking at any changes that are being made over as a sign that they are not wanted ... and they are trying to protest that in any way that they can."

A sign at Adams and Hamilton was pushed to the ground next to the neighborhood's defunct Jelly Bean Garden, an 8-year-old community lot across the street from Touhy-Herbertpark ruined by litter. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

Some other residential parking ban signs recently installed onthe block were not vandalized or removed.

In the spring,Burnett pitched a plan toconvert a fewstreets near Touhy-HerbertPark to a residential permit parking zone, aiming to block partiers from parking near the park.

RELATED:Raucous, 200-Person Gang Parties Ruining Park Can Parking Ban Stop Them?

Near West Side police saidthe new parking rules could be a valuable tool, as the overnight restrictions would allow police to ticket and tow cars that don't have resident parkingstickers.

Burnett could not be reached for comment.

The parking bansigns were installed after araucous gang partybrought 1,000 people to the residential streets around Touhy-HerbertPark last month, a party that Burnett said was too large for police officers in 25 Chicago Police Department squadcars to break up. The police were outnumbered, he said.

"It's not just an inconvenience, it's very dangerous," Burnett said at the time."When you have that many people drinking, getting high, anything can happen."

RELATED:1,000-Person Gang Party Too Big For Police In 25 Squads To Stop, Ald. Says

At 8:40 p.m. June 20, days after the party,26-year-oldAntwon High was shot dead at Adams and Hoyne, just steps from the park. Two other men, ages 21 and 23, were wounded in the shooting.

RELATED:Antwon High, 26, Killed In Near West Side Shooting; 2 Others Wounded

Neighbors also had previously lobbied for a residential parking zone to be set up south of the park, saidKaterina Klopas, treasurer of theTouhy-Herbert Park Advisory Council.

The zone includes permit parking on the south end of Adams Street;LeavittStreetfrom Adams Street to Jackson Boulevard;Hamilton Avenuefrom Adams to Jackson; and Hoyne Avenue from Adams to Jackson, Burnettsaid. Parkingalso is prohibited onthe north of end of Adams overnight.

A residential parking ban sign was pushed to the ground at Adams and Hamilton, and another sign on the block was removed, neighbors report. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

Before the signs were installed, the six-year neighbor said he was skeptical that a residential parking ban could help stop parties at Touhy-Herbertpark. Now that some signs have been defaced or removed, he said he's now even more skeptical the ban canmake a difference.

"I'm pretty skeptical,"the neighborsaid. "It's only going to make a difference if it's strictly enforced, and I don't have the confidence that it will be strictly enforced. I think a lot of people in the neighborhood are looking for a quick fix, and I don't think this was going to beit."

Another neighbor who has lived in the area for three years called the vandalism "disheartening."

"It's hard because the alderman and the neighborhood are putting up an effort," she said.

Here's parking sign at Hamilton Avenue and Jackson Boulevard that was not vandalized.[DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

In a statement, Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Near West Police District Cmdr. Edward Kulbida has increased patrols in the area in and around Touhy-Herbert Park.

"Iknow Cmdr. Kulbida has increased patrols overall in the park, and officers are going to be very strict on enforcing city park rules," Guglielmi wrote.

RELATED:Gun-Waving Teen, 14, Seen In Rap Video Arrested On Gun Charge Days Later

RELATED:A Music Video Was Shot In The Middle Of Last Week's 1,000-Person Gang Party

RELATED:Loud Gangbangers Party All Night Long at Near West Side Park, Neighbors Say

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Signs Aimed At Curbing Huge Gang Parties Near United Center Vandalized - DNAinfo