“Out of Africa Theory” which asserts that human life began in Africa and then spread to the rest of the world! (1049 hits)
(Taylor Media Services) According to a just released 10-year study, Africans have more genetic variation than any other people on Earth. The finding, published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science, confirms the so-called “Out of Africa Theory” which asserts that human life began in Africa and then spread to the rest of the world. The greater genetic variation or diversity indicates Africans were the planet’s original people since there tends to be more changes in genes the longer a people have been in existence.
Lead researcher Sarah Tishkoff, a geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania, explained, “Given the fact that modern humans arose in Africa, they [Africans] have had time to accumulate dramatic changes.” Another major finding from the study was that humans first evolved in Southern Africa, probably near the current-day South Africa-Namibia border (an area of the San people). This contradicts earlier beliefs that humans first emerged in Northeast Africa near current-day Ethiopia. The study also confirmed that 71 percent of African Americans can trace their genetic ancestry to West Africa.
However, American Blacks also have between 13 percent and 15 percent European genes in addition to smaller amounts of genetic ancestry from other parts of Africa ranging from Angola to Senegal. Other studies have put the European genetic component as high as 20 percent. But contrary to the claims of many older Blacks, Tishkoff said her team could find “very little” evidence of American Indian genes among African Americans. The study is detailed online in the current issue of Science at: http://www.sciencemag.org . The National Black News Service will also include a more detailed report in next week at www.freewebs.com/blacknewsjournal/
