Science / Medicine : Research Traces Modern Human Origin to Africa

Strong support for the controversial theory that modern humans originated in Africa about 100,000 years ago and spread from there through Europe and Asia has been provided by a team headed by UCLA molecular biologist Verne N. Schumaker.

The researchers studied the evolution of a protein that is the primary component of the low-density lipoproteins that transport cholesterol through the blood stream. They reported last week in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that the form of the protein most common in the blood of native Africans bears the closest resemblance to the protein found in the blood of non-human primates. Variations in the protein increased with geographical distance from Africa, indicating that those people most distant from Africa were the most recent descendants.

“These results support work by others that we came out of Africa 100,000 years ago, or perhaps even 50,000 years ago,” Schumaker said. “It’s really recent. The message is we’re really all brothers under the skin.”