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[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
Clues about modern-day tuberculosis could be found in some 6,000 year old bones. Israeli, Palestinian and German scientists have teamed up to investigate the remnants of diseases in bones excavated from the ancient city of Jericho. It’s an exercise in paleoepidemiology, the study of ancient diseases in mummified bodies and other human remains. The Jericho bones were unearthed by Dr. Kathleen Kenyon half a century ago. The DNA in the samples will be tested for tuberculosis, leprosy, leishmania and malaria. But the focus is on tuberculosis, which is the biggest killer today.
Scientists believe that tuberculosis originated in the Fertile Crescent 9-10,000 years ago. And Jericho is one of the earliest cities on earth, about 11,000 years old. So there’s a good chance TB could have gotten a start there. Researchers will be studying how early cities—the first time people lived in crowds—affected the DNA of microbes and their human hosts. They’ll also be looking at the remains of animals, which could have been disease vectors. Scientists on the team believe there’s sufficient DNA in the samples to provide new information about the origin and evolution of TB, which could help us combat it today.
—Cynthia Graber
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4 Comments
Add Commentgood job..i just submit to say thanks
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is this nagging idea I have, probably due to passing 60, is that the investigations into disease origins will show that the humans who 'began' civilization were really just picking up where the environmental catastrophe dropped them off. Hence we have all that degraded health, disease, etc shown in fossilized humans, mummies, etc. and then we got healthier only now we have returned to the same health status due to exposure to heavy metals, (arsenic) in our food supply.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt now seems to be a race between failing immunity and how we prop that immunity up, probiotics, etc., since we can't -won't- eliminate toxins from our environment.
I wonder..................
I wish that those scientists have success in their research. Today has cure for TB, but depending heavily in the correct use of antibiotics. Good luck for they and consequently for us.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't think that "we have returned to the same health status" as our predecessors. All the data show that we are much healthier and live much longer. With the new centuries there came and new challenges (see only AIDS). Let us hope for new and better remedies.
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