Saturday, November 21, 2009 | Science : Genetics | print version

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Gene change in cannibals reveals evolution in action

by Andy Coghlan - NewScientist

Thanks to Debridement for the link.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18172-gene-change-in-cannibals-reveals-evolution-in-action.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

It's a snapshot of human evolution in progress. A genetic mutation protecting against kuru – a brain disease passed on by eating human brains – only emerged and spread in the last 200 years.

When members of the Fore people in Papua New Guinea died, others would eat the dead person's brain during funeral rituals as a mark of respect. Kuru passed on in this way killed at least 2500 Fore in the 20th century until the cause was identified in the late 1950s and the practice halted.

Identification of kuru and how it was spread helped researchers identify how BSE – mad cow disease – spread through the feeding of infected cattle brains to other animals, and how this eventually led to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which has killed 166 people so far in the UK.

Simon Mead of the British prion research centre at University College London says the discovery of an "anti-kuru" gene is the most clear-cut evidence yet of human evolution in action.

"I hope it will become a textbook example of how evolution happens," he says. "It's a striking and timely example, given the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species," he says.
...
Continue reading
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18172-gene-change-in-cannibals-reveals-evolution-in-action.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
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From BBC
Thanks to Ivan for the link.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8364603.stm

Tribes resistance could help CJD

Darwinian natural selection could help halt human "mad cow disease", experts say after finding a tribe impervious to a related fatal brain disorder.

The Papua New Guinea tribe developed strong genetic resistance after a major epidemic of the CJD-like disease, kuru, spread mostly by cannibalism.

Medical Research Council experts assessed more than 3,000 survivors of the mid-20th Century epidemic.

Their findings appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.
...
Continue reading
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8364603.stm

Posted: Saturday, November 21, 2009 | Permalink

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1. Comment #433668 by God fearing Atheist on November 21, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Or the final proof evolution is evil - it protectes against the consequences of indulging in cannibalism! Oh nooes!

Other Comments by God fearing Atheist

2. Comment #433676 by BiologicDentists.com on November 21, 2009 at 12:52 pm

This article also proves how resilient humans are. It's hard to kill us off. But, it happened to the dinosaurs, so perhaps we will eventually go bye-bye too. I wish I could live forever. And, no I don't mean through a phoney religion, lol!

Other Comments by BiologicDentists.com

3. Comment #433691 by vicars_daughter on November 21, 2009 at 2:08 pm

How cool is that? ... well, clearly not the eating brains bit! ... but evolution happening pretty much before our eyes.

Although I'm increasingly of the opinion that nothing will change the mind of anti-evos. There's so much evidence it's mind boggling and yet doorstep conversations on the topic with the local Jehovah's Witnesses makes me despair.

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4. Comment #433699 by Border Collie on November 21, 2009 at 2:44 pm

I have a great idea for preventing mad cow disease in humans ... This is complicated so read it slowly ... Don't grind up the brains of dead cows and feed it to other cows. Did you catch that? Or, how 'bout this? Don't eat brains. Don't eat brains. Don't eat brains. Did I mention ... don't eat brains? I love what religion does to people's minds ... I respect you. You're dead. I think I'll eat your brains. Bon appetit, ghouls!

Other Comments by Border Collie

5. Comment #433724 by zengardener on November 21, 2009 at 5:04 pm

If one doesn't have the protective gene, is simply cooking the brains enough?

What temperature is required? If this were discovered, then those people could go back to cannibalism.

I wouldn't normally support such woo, but I think it would really get under the skin of the evangelicals who got them to stop in the first place.

Other Comments by zengardener

6. Comment #433729 by Shiva on November 21, 2009 at 5:23 pm

Fascinating and extremely interesting news!

It also shows how irrational religious rituals can result in killing people.

A. "Well, the gods told us to eat brains!"

B. "But it kills us off!"

A. "Well, the gods told us to eat brains!"

B. "But it kills us off!"

A. "Well, the gods told..... argh!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!" (dead)

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7. Comment #433730 by godsbelow on November 21, 2009 at 5:24 pm

Simple, elegant evidence of natural selection - I reckon it would make a great text-book example, too. Students are always more interested in the grusome stuff!

zengardener -

Well, purely for the sake of argument, if the Fore were only eating the brains of their kin, and not those of enemy tribes etc., then why shouldn't they be permitted their freaky funerary pratices£ (I'm assuming without any evidence or research beyond Wikipedia that they refrained from eating people who didn't want to be eaten.) Not the most pleasant religious ritual, certainly, and clearly not the healthiest either, but at least they weren't hurting anyone other than themselves. More than can be said for many another weird belief.

Just for the sake of argument.

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8. Comment #433734 by ozturk on November 21, 2009 at 5:36 pm

I think Border Collie's comment needs to be taken a step further: no animal matter should be feed to animals that will be used for consumption. Sort of thing that makes me think I should go vegetarian.

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9. Comment #433751 by dal on November 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Prediction: Ray Comfort will use this as proof that evolution is evil coz it turns us into cannibals.

Other Comments by dal

10. Comment #433753 by mordacious1 on November 21, 2009 at 7:12 pm

Gotta love cannibal jokes:

Why won't cannibals eat divorced women?
They're very bitter.

What did the cannibal do after he had dumped his girlfriend?
Wiped his butt.

Did you hear about the cannibal who passed his uncle in the woods?

Two cannibals just finished a big meal and one turns to the other while rubbing his stomach with his fist and say, "You know, I just ate my mother-in-law, and she still doesn't agree with me!"

What is a cannibal's favorite game?
Swallow the leader.

Two ferocious cannibal chiefs sat licking their fingers after a large meal. "Your wife makes a delicious roast," one chief said.
"Thanks," his friend said, "I'm gonna miss her!"

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11. Comment #433767 by Stafford Gordon on November 21, 2009 at 8:27 pm

This is an amazing development; discovery.

On we go, to what I suspect will be a new critical mass of evidence; as if one were needed, except for the "hard of thinking" or creationists.

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12. Comment #433768 by TIKI AL on November 21, 2009 at 8:28 pm

A cannibal who ate 4 warriors sees his witch doctor the next day and tells him he woke up with 5 penises.

Witchdoctor: "Well how the hell do your pants fit?"
Cannibal speaking in Jim Carey Pet Detective voice: "La-ike a ga-love".

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13. Comment #433786 by Bernard Hurley on November 21, 2009 at 9:30 pm

Comment #433724 by zengardener

If one doesn't have the protective gene, is simply cooking the brains enough?

I'm afraid not. As it says on http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/dna/prions/index.html

Prions cannot be destroyed by boiling, alcohol, acid, standard autoclaving methods, or radiation. In fact, infected brains that have been sitting in formaldehyde for decades can still transmit spongiform disease. Cooking your burger 'til it's well done won't destroy the prions

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14. Comment #433822 by j.mills on November 22, 2009 at 12:28 am

ozturk says:

no animal matter should be feed to animals that will be used for consumption. Sort of thing that makes me think I should go vegetarian.

Well, you should of course, but just to be nit-picky, pigs are omnivores that will eat anything you put in front of 'em. Likewise dogs, eaten in Korea. And big fish eat little fish. So your rule is a tad simplistic.

In Indonesia, a local delicacy is eating the brains of a live monkey, placed beneath a table with a hole in it. Wonder if it tastes of peanuts..?

Execrable cannibal jokes, guys. Keep 'em coming!

EDIT: Bernard Hurley quotes:

In fact, infected brains that have been sitting in formaldehyde for decades can still transmit spongiform disease.

I'm thinking I really don't want to know how they verified that...

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15. Comment #433832 by megacephalanthropus on November 22, 2009 at 4:05 am

BWAINZ!!!!

this kuru disease has found an interesting way of spreading selfish genes.

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16. Comment #433840 by Roy_H on November 22, 2009 at 7:07 am

"Comment #433753 by mordacious1 on November 21, 2009 at 7:12 pm Gotta love cannibal jokes:"
You forgot one. Two cannibals were eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

Other Comments by Roy_H

17. Comment #433846 by Roland_F on November 22, 2009 at 8:03 am

And last week on another tread here on RD.NET the Cretinist (poster name Stewart Cowan) spread his believe, that after ‘The Fall’ (you know after eating an apple recommended from a talking snake) all random mutations are only negative. Therefore evolution can never move forward and improve, but only deteriorate after God’s perfect creation.

But now neuroscientists found out that the spirit of dead ancestors mutated the codon G127G to G127V, so that their faithful believers become immune to kuru disease. So it's time that the adherents of the 3 Abrahamic faiths convert to devout their lives to worship the dead ancestors of Papua.

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18. Comment #433862 by rugby on November 22, 2009 at 11:11 am

Speaking as a zombie, I must say I was terribly relieved to read this article.

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19. Comment #433883 by Border Collie on November 22, 2009 at 2:54 pm

So, OK, zombies, cannibals and ghouls, you're in the multicultural ass-kissing arena now. No one is going to tell you that your superstitious behavior is completely idiotic, so enjoy yourselves, eat your brains, die.

One more joke ... Why do they call it 'PMS'?
'Mad cow disease' was already taken.
(apologies, ladies)

Other Comments by Border Collie

20. Comment #434382 by Alternative Carpark on November 24, 2009 at 2:24 am