Wild Africa: The River & The Savanna

"Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the Romance of the unusual."
— Ernest Hemingway

We are all Africans-In his book, The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, Wells describes the exodus from Africa that began around 60,000 years ago, and the path we took to populate the world.

Following the southern coastline of Asia, the first early travelers crossed about 250 kilometers [155 miles] of sea, and colonized Australia by around 50,000 years ago. The Aborigines of Australia, Wells says, are the descendants of the first wave of migration out of Africa.

A second wave left Africa around 45,000 years ago and settled in the Middle East, with smaller groups going off to India, northern China, and southern China. As the glaciers of the Ice Age began to retreat around 40,000 years ago and temperatures warmed up, humans moved into Central Asia and multiplied quickly.

"Our DNA tells the story of the journey of our species." Spencer Wells

New DNA studies suggest that all humans descended from a single African ancestor who lived some 60,000 years ago. To uncover the paths that lead from him to every living human, the National Geographic Society launched the Genographic Project, headed by Spencer Wells. The quest for "Adam" is the subject of a new television documentary that airs on the National Geographic Channel in the U.S. this Sunday.

The project is a five-year endeavor undertaken as a partnership between IBM and National Geographic. It will combine population genetics and molecular biology to trace the migration of humans from the time we first left Africa, 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, to the places where we live today.

Ten research centers around the world have received funding from the Waitt Family Foundation to collect and analyze blood samples from indigenous populations (such as aboriginal groups), many in remote areas. The Genographic Project hopes to collect more than a hundred thousand DNA samples to create the largest gene bank in the world. Members of the public are also being invited to participate.

"Our DNA tells a fascinating story of the human journey: how we are all related and how our ancestors got to where we are today," Wells said. "This project will show us some of the routes early humans followed to populate the globe and paint a picture of the genetic tapestry that connects us all."

Tracing Human History

"As often happens in science," said Wells, "technology has opened up a field to new ways of answering old questions—often providing startling answers."

One of the old questions that intrigued Wells was the question of human origins. Whether early humans evolved in Africa or elsewhere, when they began outward migration, and where they went, are issues that have been argued among archaeologists, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists for decades.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The
• Nile
• River
• Savanna
• nature
• classical
• music
• bach
• beethoven
• We
• Are
• All
• Africans
• evolution
• dna
• wildlife
• mother
• land
• Geoffrey
• Oryema
• africa
• yt:stretch=16:9
• geographic
• travel log
• science
• water
• piano

[mojokiller720]

@iZealot The third song is Suite no.1 in g for cello

[iZealot]

@mojokiller720 The second song is Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. I don't know the 3rd, or last one, but I would like to know.

[mojokiller720]

@goko77 flower duet. do you know the other two?

[goko77]

What is the name of first song i need that info pleas

[mojokiller720]

What are the other two songs after the flower duet?

[dewinthemorning]

Beautiful! And makes you think.