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Study: Seals Infected Early Americans With Tuberculosis

mdsolar writes that a study suggests that tuberculosis first appeared in the New World less than 6,000 years ago and it was brought here by seals. After a remarkable analysis of bacterial DNA from 1,000-year-old mummies, scientists have proposed a new hypothesis for how tuberculosis arose and spread around the world. The disease originated less than 6,000 years ago in Africa, they say, and took a surprising route to reach the New World: it was carried across the Atlantic by seals. The new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, has already provoked strong reactions from other scientists. "This is a landmark paper that challenges our previous ideas about the origins of tuberculosis," said Terry Brown, a professor of biomolecular archaeology at the University of Manchester. "At the moment, I'm still in the astonished stage over this."

3 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. But but... by Narcocide · · Score: 5, Funny

    She told me she was a mermaid!!

  2. Re:Africa man... by Iamthecheese · · Score: 5, Informative

    Seriously? The chance to cause global disasters and a million war deaths (by the most off-the-wall-extreme measures for the US's war on terror) and the like are not preferable to Africa's situation?

    Let me count some of the tragedies in recent years in Africa.

    I'm not arguing that first world countries are utopias but to claim Africa has it better or is doing things better is silly on the face of it.

    --
    If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
  3. Re:No problem by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Looks like you've blown a seal." "Just fix it and leave my personal life out of this."