Do Africans (on 'average') have weaker immune systems than Eurasian descended people
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Huruma
Members Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭
From what I've read, prehistoric humans (who were anatomically modern humans) migrated out of Africa into West Asia around 50 000 years ago. There's evidence that ? sapiens interbred with neanderthals and denisovans (another hominid species, closely related to neanderthals) in the Middle East and the average Eurasian descended person (the indigenous Berbers of North Africa descend from pre-historic West Asians who migrated into North Africa around 10 000 years ago so this would include them) inherits around 1-4% of their DNA from neanderthal ancestors (the figure rises and lowers from population to population, it's very high among Papua New Guineans and some south east Asian groups, I think). There's also reason to believe that mixing with neanderthals and denisovans helped strengthen the immune system of their mixed offspring and neanderthal/denisovan inherited mutations on the HLA gene have been associated with greater ability to fight off disease.
Is it possible that, for genetic reasons rather than socio-economic factors, Africans tend to have a weaker immune system than non-African descended people do?
http://www.livescience.com/15754-neanderthals-immunity-boost-humans.html
Is it possible that, for genetic reasons rather than socio-economic factors, Africans tend to have a weaker immune system than non-African descended people do?
http://www.livescience.com/15754-neanderthals-immunity-boost-humans.html
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And they (Africans) are thought to have an even stronger and more diverse immune system, as they bred with other species of archaic hominids, which were native to Africa.
http://www.dailytech.com/Neanderthal+Sex+Gave+Europeans+and+Asians+Stronger+Immune+Systems/article22555.htm
I can't find any other information online that supports this. -
Interesting thread….But the thesis is flawed
The research suggests that European DNA which has traces of Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA is stronger or has a better immune system than that of African DNA that has none, but fails to provide any evidence to support the claim. No examples of this superior immune system other than it “may have helped whoever had it against the local germs in the area at the time.” What germs? This ? seems mad Eurocentric, it is widely accepted that humans were “specialized” to their specific geographical regions. Therefore an African in Europe would be at a biological disadvantage while the European in Africa would experience a similar disadvantage. The evidence acknowledges that all humanoid groups were found in Africa, including Neanderthal, So why suggest that this “interbreeding” originated in Europe and placed Africans at a disadvantage? -
well put...Interesting thread….But the thesis is flawed
The research suggests that European DNA which has traces of Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA is stronger or has a better immune system than that of African DNA that has none, but fails to provide any evidence to support the claim. No examples of this superior immune system other than it “may have helped whoever had it against the local germs in the area at the time.” What germs? This ? seems mad Eurocentric, it is widely accepted that humans were “specialized” to their specific geographical regions. Therefore an African in Europe would be at a biological disadvantage while the European in Africa would experience a similar disadvantage. The evidence acknowledges that all humanoid groups were found in Africa, including Neanderthal, So why suggest that this “interbreeding” originated in Europe and placed Africans at a disadvantage? -
Interesting thread….But the thesis is flawed
The research suggests that European DNA which has traces of Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA is stronger or has a better immune system than that of African DNA that has none, but fails to provide any evidence to support the claim. No examples of this superior immune system other than it “may have helped whoever had it against the local germs in the area at the time.” What germs? This ? seems mad Eurocentric, it is widely accepted that humans were “specialized” to their specific geographical regions. Therefore an African in Europe would be at a biological disadvantage while the European in Africa would experience a similar disadvantage. The evidence acknowledges that all humanoid groups were found in Africa, including Neanderthal, So why suggest that this “interbreeding” originated in Europe and placed Africans at a disadvantage?
Hmm very good post makes sense.
