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Science Friday > Archives > 2003 > June
> June 13, 2003:
Hour Two: Earliest
Humans / Animal Diseases
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Researchers report this week that they have found what they
consider to be the strongest evidence yet for a theory of human
origins known as the 'out of Africa' theory -- the idea that
modern humanity originated on the African continent. The evidence
comes in the form of remains from hominids strikingly similar
to, but slightly different from, modern Homo sapiens.
The hominids found, the researchers conclude in a paper published
this week in the journal Nature, "represent the probable
immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans." We'll
talk about the find, and what it can tell us about human origins.
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Photos courtesy Tim White.
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Then, we'll turn our attention to animal diseases and the dangers
posed by diseases that jump the species barrier into humans. This
week, several cases of monkeypox were reported in the US. The illness
is thought to have entered the country with imported rodents, including
Gambian pouched rats, that were kept as exotic pets. Other illnesses,
including SARS and some flu epidemics, are thought to have had their
starts in animal populations. We'll find out more. Call in with your
questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255, and share your opinions
online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).
Guests:
Tim White
Professor of Integrative Biology
University of California
Berkeley, California
Jonathan Patz
Assistant Professor, Environmental
Health Sciences
Director, Program on
Health Effects of Global Environmental Change
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland
Dr. Peter Daszak
Executive Director, Consortium
for Conservation Medicine
Wildlife Trust
Palisades, NY
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Skulls
of Oldest Homo Sapiens Recovered
UC
Berkeley Press Release
A
look at ancestors of ours - - 160000 years ago
Skulls
rule out Neanderthal link to modern humans
Oldest
Human Fossils Found
Monkeypox
First
Outbreak of Human Monkeypox in U.S.
Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
WHO/OMS:
Zoonoses
UK
Zoonoses Group
West
Nile Virus Map
APHIS
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Johns
Hopkins Global Environment Change and Our Health | PBS
This segment produced by Karin
Vergoth and Anna Lee Strachan
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