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Matthew Williams, João Teixeira; A genetic perspective on human origins. Biochem (Lond) 31 January 2020; 42 (1): 6–10. doi: doi.org/10.1042/BIO04201006 @science @archaeodons

A genetic perspective on human origins

Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here? These fundamental questions have been widespread throughout human history, shared across different cultures from distant epochs and geographical locations. The search has been as much a philosophical as an empirical one, capturing the imagination of the philosopher, the theologian, the artist and the scientist alike. Hence, the quest for unveiling our origins is probably as old as humanity itself. From a scientific point of view, which we address in the present article, the question of human origins became deeply intertwined with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in the late 19th century. This led to the development of scientific fields such as palaeoanthropology, which analyses fossil remains, stone tools and cultural artefacts to piece together our past. Recently, however, the possibility to assess genetic information from thousands of individuals across the world and, more importantly, to obtain DNA from specimens that lived thousands of years in the past (so-called ancient DNA [aDNA] analyses) is rapidly transforming long-held beliefs about our origins. As such, we have never been in a better position to ask what do our genomes have to tell us about where we came from. Ultimately, however, can they tell us who we are?

doi.org

Farnsworth, A., Lo, Y.T.E., Valdes, P.J. et al. Climate extremes likely to drive land mammal extinction during next supercontinent assembly. Nat. Geosci. (2023). doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-012 @science

"A team of historians and scientists wanted to map cultural mobility, so they tracked the births and deaths of notable individuals like David, King of Israel, and Leonardo da Vinci, from 600 BC to the present day. Using them as a proxy for skills and ideas, their map reveals intellectual hotspots and tracks how empires rise and crumble". youtu.be/4gIhRkCcD4U @science @histodon @histodons

"This planetary boundaries framework update finds that six of the nine boundaries are transgressed, suggesting that Earth is now well outside of the safe operating space for humanity."

Katherine Richardson et al., Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Sci. Adv. 9, eadh2458 (2023). DOI: doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh2458 @science

Dafydd Owen-Newns Joshua Robertson Matěj Hejda Antonio Hurtado.. Photonic Spiking Neural Networks with Highly Efficient Training Protocols for Ultrafast Neuromorphic Computing Systems. Intell Comput. 2023:2;0031. DOI: doi.org/10.34133/icomputing.00 @science

Chartrand, S.M., Jellinek, A.M., Kukko, A. et al. High Arctic channel incision modulated by climate change and the emergence of polygonal ground. Nat Commun 14, 5297 (2023). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-407 @science

"A Cultural History of Chemistry in Antiquity covers the period from 3000 BCE to 600 CE, ranging across the civilizations of the Mediterranean and Near East. Over this long period, chemical artisans, recipes, and ideas were exchanged between Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, and Byzantium."

Beretta, M. (Ed.). (2022). A Cultural History Of Chemistry: In Antiquity. London,: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved September 10, 2023, from dx.doi.org/10.5040/97814742037
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Ariano, B., Mattiangeli, V., Breslin, E. M., Parkinson, E. W., McLaughlin, R., Thompson, J. E., Power, R. K., Stock, J. T., Mercieca-Spiteri, B., Stoddart, S., Malone, C., Gopalakrishnan, S., Cassidy, L. M., & Bradley, D. G. (2022). Ancient Maltese genomes and the genetic geography of Neolithic Europe. Current Biology, 32(12), 2668-2680.e6. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.04. @science @archaeodons

"The new technology of ancient DNA has highlighted a remarkable parallel in the prehistory of Europe and South Asia. In both cases, the arrival of agriculture from southwest Asia after 9,000 years ago catalyzed profound population mixtures of groups related to Southwest Asian farmers and local hunter-gatherers." youtu.be/pra7YZWVc-s @science

"A genomics analysis of more than 3,000 living people suggested that our ancestors’ total population plummeted to about 1,280 breeding individuals for about 117,000 years. Scientists believe that an extreme climate event could have led to the bottleneck that came close to wiping out our ancestral line." theguardian.com/science/2023/a @science

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