The father of all men is 340,000 years old
DNA evidence has revealed that the oldest known common male ancestor is 340,000 years old, more than twice as old as previous estimates.
New Scientist reports that the sample comes from a recently deceased man named Albert Perry. After the African-American South Carolina man died, one of his relatives submitted a sample of his DNA to a company called Family Tree DNA for analysis.
The findings were published in the The American Journal of Human Genetics and may require researchers to adjust the known timeline of humankinds evolution.
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Michael Hammer, a geneticist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, heard about Perry's unusual Y chromosome and did some further testing. His team's research revealed something extraordinary: Perry did not descend from the genetic Adam. In fact, his Y chromosome was so distinct that his male lineage probably separated from all others about 338,000 years ago.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23240-the-father-of-all-men-is-340000-years-old.html
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Still Sensible
(2,870 posts)my malware software blocked it as a malicious site.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Its fine - trust me. Yahoo link here if you prefer : http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/father-humankind-340-000-years-old-210033011.html
BainsBane
(53,035 posts)MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)Hekate
(90,733 posts)The scientist is right, this is a very cool discovery.
nxylas
(6,440 posts)I so want this new common ancestor to be named the genetic Steve, just to piss off the fundies.
NBachers
(17,126 posts)Absolutely fascinating.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)but our genetic ancestors are wayyy older
that must prove we are descended from...aliens!
HA! how do you like THEM apples, fundies?