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A new study shows that a corona pandemic broke out in East Asia 20,000 years ago.
In a recent study, researchers from the University of Arizona explained that many Asian people could trace their ancestry back to people who survived a Corona pandemic over 20,000 years ago.
The scientists discovered that studying descendants‘ genomes can reveal information going back tens of thousands of years. As “DocCheck” explains, the term genome refers to the “totality of all genes” contained in “a complete set of chromosomes.“
Genomes reveal data thousands of years old
The researchers used data from the international 1000 Genomes Project, the most extensive public catalog containing genes from over 1,000 people.
The scientists examined the changes in human genes exposed to the coronavirus. They then linked both human and SARS-CoV-2 proteins to study the response without using living cells. This showed that proteins and cells interacted immediately, indicating coronaviruses‘ mechanism for cell invasion.
“The modern human genome contains evolutionary information that can be traced back tens of thousands of years,” study co-author Kirill Alexandrov said in a press release. “The team’s computer scientists applied evolutionary analyses to the human genome dataset and discovered evidence that the ancestors of East Asian humans experienced an epidemic similar to COVID-19.”
People from China, Japan, Mongolia, North and South Korea, and Taiwan could all be descendants of those who experienced this ancient coronavirus outbreak.
Genes have adapted to the virus
Alexandrov explained that human genes adapted during the epidemic 20,000 years ago, preventing severe disease. “By developing more insights into the ancient viruses, we understand how the genomes of different human populations adapted to the viruses, which have recently been recognized as an important driver of human evolution,” the expert further said.
According to the research team, the results show how health conditions that are thousands of years old provide scientists with insight into current situations – such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another important finding of the study is that scientists now can identify viruses that have caused epidemics in the distant past and could do so in the future.
“This allows us to list potentially dangerous viruses and then develop diagnostics, vaccines, and drugs if they return,” Alexandrov explained.
The study results were published in the journal Current Biology.
- source: k.at/picture: pixabay.com
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