New research shows malaria threat is as old as humanity
Thursday, June 17, 2010 - 11:20
in Paleontology & Archaeology
New research published today by scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) shows that malaria is tens of thousands of years older than previously thought. An international team, led by researchers at Imperial College London, have found that the potentially deadly tropical disease evolved alongside anatomically modern humans and moved with our ancestors as they migrated out of Africa around 60-80,000 years ago. The research is published in the journal Current Biology.