Sarah Tishkoff: Human Population Genetics and Origins

CARTA celebrates its 10th anniversary with a whirlwind tour of anthropogeny, the study of the origin of humans, by addressing these questions across multiple disciplines: What do we know for certain? What do we think we know? What do we need to know? How do we proceed? Recorded on 3/23/2019. [8/2019] [Show ID: 34702]

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0:00 Introduction
1:52 Key Challenges in Human Evolutionary Genomics Research
2:43 What we need to know. When and where did modern humans originate in Africa?
3:12 What we need to know: How many migrations where there out of Africa and what were the source populations?
3:43 What we need to know: Was there admixture with archaic populations in Africa?
5:30 Measuring Phenotypic Diversity
6:32 High Coverage Whole Genome Sequencing in Africa
8:15 What we need to know What is the molecular mechanism of human adaptation?
8:58 Skin Color is an Adaptive Trait
10:17 Genome Wide Association Study
10:25 SLC24A5
13:14 Gene Geneology of MFSD12 using genome sequence data from Simons Genome Diversity Project
14:00 A Selective Sweep in Eurasians
14:35 OCA2/HERC2
15:21 Age of Derived Alleles
15:38 Evolution of human skin pigmentation
16:35 How do we proceed?

[SolaceEasy]

Thanks for your determined approach to fill in gaps in our knowledge of ourselves.

[usergiodmsilvaPT]

Excellent summary of what is, by this time, the state of the art in anthropogeny. Love it.

[jem]

I really enjoyed your data supporting the theory that skin color is an adaptive trait. The presence of both lighter and darker skin color gene variants in our ancestors was very informative. Looking forward to hearing about further developments!

The genetic data for the recent african origin of modern humans is compelling. This hypothesis is only strengthened by the inclusion of the {small} contributions to our gene pool made by our "cousins" (Neandertals, Denisovans, etc.). However, where our ancestors were living when they diverged from out "cousins" might be a different...


A lot of people weren't listening to what you said!
The comments are a good example of “It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear” (Frank Luntz).

[nmadtv]

Most of the planet doesn't create fossils. This needs to be mentioned a bit more often, thanks for your work.

[robertohosea]

Facts based on fossils, this means that if someday we find older fossils, then what is considered as "fact" changes completely

[twalrus]

Wow, you taught me more in 17 minutes than I could have learned in 2 years.

[peterstuart]

The light variant was not migrated back into east Africa it came from Africa in the first place but just layed dorment I would argue. Which is why it was found in the old ancestors allnskin type variations and genes originate from Africa

[Malingerer]

Fascinating work. Looking forward to RWE Human Genomics Research. Exciting

[dovicdc]

Thanks for the video but the map of morocco is cut in two ... Can you avoid this mistake next time if that posible . Thanks

[CricketFan-jsee]

That was huge project and definitely we are far more clear than this latest study. Thanks to all those people who worked hard for this gigantic project. 🙏🏽🙌🏽❤️

[duwanclark]

“Bio medical knowledge, it could exacerbate health disparities...” 🤦🏾‍♂️

[rodneyLeerlb]

Great presentation, I wish it had been longer.

[peterleadley]

I hope you don't mind, but I have used your findings in a book called Adam & Eve and the Big Bang (with no copyright infringement!).to reconcile the Legend of the Garden of Eden with reality. The Biblical description of the Garden matches the area you define as the point of Origin perfectly. If you let me know where to send it, I will forward a copy to you. Thank you for your work.
(14:20) Could this not have something to do with the 'Bottle Neck' caused by the eruption of the volcano Toba, 70k years ago?

[msmsmsms]

Why the fuck does every discussion on population genetics turn into a race war in the comment section?

[Rounddaclock]

Perhaps we’d have more fossil data if our anthropologist and archaeologists looked in different areas instead of milking the same areas for fossils. They only
Look in south and East Africa a comprehensive study of North West and Central Africa could give us a better understanding of human migrations.

[Cristoforo]

Thinking our origins are linear and singular over time is simplistic and naive; it was more likely to have been simultaneously multi-directional and overlapping, subject to whim and weather, migrations of game and gold.

[kytoaltoky]

For all of the people getting a white-people-came-first conclusion from this information, it isn’t clear (from what I’ve seen) what phenotypic traits were initially associated with the genetic distribution. Clearly, everything from Hindic peoples to Vikings would have had the same genetic base. It is safe to say that both Nilotes and Swedes have extrodinarily derived versions of the phenotype. Early humans, regardless of their genotype, would have had little diversity owing to their shared environment.

[MrTaxiRob]

Isn't it possible that relatively short term events might have influenced selection causing a permanent, or at least widespread change in skin pigment? Like, if the local climate swung hot for a long enough period of time, wouldn't that influence selection for increased melanin? Significant climate changes could be just a few centuries long but influential enough to trigger a change, no? Same might be assumed about mini ice ages in given populations, couldn't that also provide a "boost" to a genetic trend that might be so short in time that it doesn't clearly present in the fossil record? Climate changes may be the most common form of punctuation to the evolutionary equilibrium.

[michaelrunnels]

"When and where did modern humans originate in Africa?" They didn't. All modern humans around the world are a mixture of African humans and Neanderthal humans. Both of these groups came before modern humans. There are two types of humans on earth right now: Modern humans and African humans.

[AWildBard]

what ? changed the background/intro music ?!
how dare you