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'Ghost' DNA In West Africans Complicates Story of Human Origins

National Public Radio

There aren't any bones or ancient DNA to prove that 50,000 years ago ancient humans in what is now West Africa procreated with another group of ancient humans that scientists didn't know existed, but researchers say the evidence is in the genes of modern West Africans. UW Research Professor of Biostatistics Sharon Browning comments that ghost DNA appears frequently in the genetic material. "That tells us that these archaic populations might have had some DNA that did some useful stuff that's proved to be useful to the modern population."

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