Did An Ancient Pathogen Reshape Our Cells?

There is one - and only one - group of mammals that doesn’t have alpha-gal: the catarrhine primates, which are the monkeys of Africa and Asia, the apes, and us.

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Produced by Complexly for PBS Digital Studios

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[marisanya]

Think about what level of death is needed for a pathogen to create a lineage that successfully out-competed otherwise identical relatives because the relatives died so thoroughly that only the mutation survived? Pathogens move fast, they aren't like the multi-generational evolutionary pressures that make most of evolution move. It must have been incredibly devastating

[matman]

It is quite insane to me to think about how something so simple (yet still so complex) as a molecule/protein is the only adaptation a pathogen needs to wreak so much havoc on animal life.

[therealmariguana]

Could you guys do a video about menopause? Apparently the only animals that have it are a few types of whales and humans, hearing some theories as to why would be really cool.

[OrdonWolf]

Girl-Boss: ❌
Alpha-Gal: ✔

btw has the loss of this molecule affected the frequency of rheumatic diseases? I imagine it would, hearing what it was used for.

[alexcrazy]

Eons is on of the best informative YouTube channels ever

[GaryJohnWalker]

So maybe with fewer offspring due to the loss of alpha gal, catahrrine (sp??) primates have had to invest more in each individual child? A push for that might eventually benefit intelligence. Rather than the other way round - as primates got brighter they then cut down litter sizes to one or two due to more input (attention/nurturing) .

[vodostar]

Oh, mammals have alpha-gal. So that's why alpha-gal allergy creates an allergy to red meat and dairy - products of mammals - but not chicken or fish. Good to know.

[Hfil]

If we assume that this change happened because of an encounter with a single pathogen over a relatively short period of time is that we would have expected to see a massive reduction in primate population at that time, and that should show up as a reduction in genetic diversity that can be traced to that time period. I would expect that this is a signature we should be able to search for to confirm or refute such a theory.

[skiveman]

Videos like this give me hope that I'm not killing all my brain cells by watching YT.

[ricecritter]

Interesting they didn't address the mammal meat allergy that people get from ticks involving alpha gal. I have several friends who have developed that. Becoming more common in Tennessee. Also Blakes laugh at the end is like, so adorable😻

[samwill]

Between the existence of depressive or anxiety disorders, our upright stance slowly but inevitably destroying our lower backs, and now this. The Human body seems worryingly willing to attack itself at the slightest opportunity.

[NeilGirdhar]

Great episode! Interestic topic, nice animations, clear and pithy narration. More episodes like this please!

[MrBenwaan]

Would a lack of alpha gal have allowed us to diversify our gut bacterias, letting us eat a more varied diet during hard times?

[Alexander_Evans]

I learned a lot from PBS growing up, and they just keep serving me up knowledge into adulthood.

[salp]

idk why but 2:22-2:40 was quite beautiful editing there, nice imagery esp. with the music

[DaveTexas]

I’ve always known I was a mutant! Unfortunately, my main mutant power seems to be having an immune system that robustly attacks my own body. I’d rather have the ability to teleport or to shoot lasers out of my eyes, but mutants don’t seem have have the ability to choose their mutant powers...

[Omni]

I love PBS Eons so much! The script, the narration, the images. It's just perfect. Even the podcast is great!

[Sarafan]

Absolutely fascinating. It's amazing how we can weave these stories from DNA. Science is so cool.

[helmivanwinden]

Another interesting video about moleculer evolution. Please combine all these in one playlist, for easy access.

[tj]

Can you guys please do a video about dingoes? I've heard there is a debate about whether or not they were domesticated by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
I'd also love to see episodes on the Canowindra fish fossils, Mungo lady and Mungo man, the Naracoorte caves and the Riversleigh World Heritage Site. There are some truly amazing fossil sites in Australia