Can lice shed light on human history? One study says yes
- Lice are tiny insects that feed on human blood
- A study says they reveal clues about when people made it to the Americas
- Study co-author: ‘Less-than-charismatic creatures can be very important’
BERLIN – JUNE 22: Two head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) crawl on a piece of paper after having been removed from the hair of a little boy June 22, 2007 in Berlin, Germany. Summer weather in Central Europe typically brings with it cases of head lice in schoolchildren. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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(NewsNation) — When did people first make it to the Americas? A recent study postulates that lice might provide a clue.
According to the research published Wednesday in PLOS One, one group of lice arrived to the Americas on East Asians and then thousands of years later, a second louse lineage popped up with European colonists.
“It is amazing to think that the lowly louse can shed a bit of light on our human journey around the world,” David Reed, a biologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History and a co-author of the study, told Smithsonian Magazine. “Written in their DNA is a script of our story. It reminds us that even the less-than-charismatic creatures can be very important to our understanding of the world around us.”
The Smithsonian Magazine reports that lice have been around for at least 25 million years and pointed to one study that said some nits are so strong they were found stuck on an ancient hair after 10,000 years.
Lice are tiny insects that feed on human blood and can spread through close contact and shared belongings.
