It’s well known that all humans alive today can be traced back to a common ancestor but a study may have found where that ancestor originates. Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute mapped the entirety of genetic relationships among humans to create the largest human family tree ever. By combining modern and ancient human genomes data from eight different databases, the researchers were able to create a massive family tree. This allowed them to see how a person’s genetic sequence relates to another using the points of the genome. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Essentially, we are reconstructing the genomes of our ancestors and using them to form a vast network of relationships,” Lead author Dr Anthony Wilder Wohns said. “We can then estimate when and where these ancestors lived.” Where they lived? Sudan, Africa. Dr Wohns told Reuters, "The very earliest ancestors we identify trace back in time to a geographic location that is in modern Sudan. “These ancestors lived up to and over 1 million years ago—which is much older than current estimates for the age of Homo sapiens—250,000 to 300,000 years ago. So bits of our genome have been inherited from individuals who we wouldn’t recognize as modern humans," Dr Wohns said. Researchers used 3,609 individual genome sequences from 215 populations and samples that ranged from 1,000s to over 100,000 years. By using a new method to compile the data, algorithms were able to predict where common ancestors were in evolutionary trees to explain some patterns of genetic variation. The results were a network of almost 27 million ancestors. “The power of our approach is that it makes very few assumptions about the underlying data and can also include both modern and ancient DNA samples,” Dr Wohns says. Not only does the data help us understand human geology better but the new method could help in other research, like medicine. “The underlying method could have widespread applications in medical research, for instance identifying genetic predictors of disease risk," Dr Wohns added. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has given some insight into his gameplan to tackle Erling Haaland and Manchester City.

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SEOUL A South Korean government think-tank revised its annual inflation projection upwards on Thursday, citing the recent rise

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John le Carré, whose birth name was David Cornwell, died in 2020

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark made it abundantly clear how he feels about Texas and Oklahoma leaving his conference after this upcoming scholastic year.We cannot wait for the Big 12-Oklahoma/Texas divorce to be finalized in a little less than a year.During Big 12 Media Days, conference c...

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A YouTube prank at New York Fashion Week has gone viral after one man confidently walked the runway – and no one batted an eyelid. Fred Beyer's stunt was captured during an event held by social media agency Creators Inc. It shows the 21-year-old wearing a transparent bin bag, complete with vibrant shorts and a shower cap as he struts down the ramp. Beyer manages to make it to the end of the catwalk, with no suspicion from the audience. Moments later, a member of security runs up and escorts him off. The clip has since made waves online, with many in hysterics over the harmless prank. "I thought that was the new summer release," one person joked, while another added: "I need confirmation that this wasn't part of the show bc they are weird like this lol." "He probably had one of the most normal fits in there," a third joked. Pranking Fashion Week www.youtube.com Meanwhile, one person commented: "And nobody suspected anything despite that drip. Goes to show how trash these shows be." Another suggested: "There was no reason to rush him off, bro already done damage and completed the mission." The YouTuber has grown popular online, with one of his most clicked videos racking up almost a million views. Titled 'Pulling Fire Alarm Prank,' the clip shows Beyer approaching people in public places telling them he is going to set the fire alarm off and repeatedly being told not to. He later tells staff that his alarms are fakes. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Kosovar government has released drone video showing a group of Serbian gunmen storming an Orthodox monastery in Kosovo on Sunday, 24 September. Around 30 masked men fled to the monastery after opening fire on police near the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, killing one officer and injuring another. The stand-off ended when most of the assailants escaped on foot under cover of darkness on Sunday evening. Three of the gunmen were shot and killed by Kosovar police.

As embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fights a historic impeachment, his lawyers say they have evidence proving his innocence

By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and