Study says near extinction threatened people

April 24, 2008 By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Writer

(AP) -- Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.

Similar stories from PHYSorg:

Turkeys domesticated not once, but twice

Feb 08, 2010 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 0

Mining destruction for data to help others

Feb 04, 2010 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

Big book explores a small world: Professor debuts first complete guide to nanoscience

Feb 04, 2010 | 4.2 / 5 (6) | 0

Darwin descended from Cro-Magnon man: scientists

Feb 04, 2010 | 4.3 / 5 (12) | 0

California to vote on naming Apollo 11's garbage a historical resource

Jan 30, 2010 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 1

• thinking - Apr 24, 2008
  • Rank: 1.9 / 5 (9)
  Genesis 2:22 Then the LORD God made a woman --- single woman---
  
  The world then becomes populated till the flood
  Genesis 8:13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. --- story goes on to say everyone else on earth died---
  
  humm.... not to say the study or genetics proves anything about the bible .... I just find it funny and interesting that genetics seem to say that all mankind came from one woman... and that most of mandkind was almost wipped out.....
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• thales - Apr 24, 2008
  • Rank: 2.4 / 5 (5)
  Interesting... mitochondrial Eve certainly co-existed with a population of other women, but there may be something to the idea of such a dramatic bottleneck event being carried on through cultural memory and ending up in the Bible.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• VladimirOrlovsky - Apr 24, 2008
  • Rank: 2.8 / 5 (4)
  "number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000..."
  What is Max number Before that?!
  How "small" is "SMALL" ?!
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• SDMike - Apr 25, 2008
  • Rank: 1 / 5 (4)
  Obviously, this extreme high temperature period was caused by humans. Early man's extensive use of fossil fuels nearly caused his demise. Good thing we have Al Gore this time to prevent a recurrence!
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• thinking - Apr 25, 2008
  • Rank: 1.8 / 5 (4)
  Lets see..... this article proves the bible account AND that man causes global warming....
  lol :)
  
  
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• Adam424 - May 05, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
  Arrgh will bible basher's leave science alone please. "mitochondrial Eve" was not the biblical one!
  
  She was merely the first to have a unique genetic structure that makes her different enough to her predecessors to be the first of a new species. She would have descended from a species very much alike humans but still too genetically different to be called human. She didn't not appear out of nowhere requiring the hand of god she was born of an ever so slightly different species.
  
  Kinda like.. what came first the chicken or the egg? The egg fool. Because if you go far enough back at some point something which we would not consider a chicken gave rise to an egg that did contain a chicken.
  
  Once again evolution trumps religion for making more sense.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5