Humans have the dubious distinction of being host to three separate species of louse. The head louse, Pediculus humanus, or its direct ancestor has been with us for the longest ride, probably for the entire 12-13 millions of years that primates and head lice have existed. The body louse (also known as the clothing louse) and the pubic louse that prefers that coarser hair for its home developed or hopped aboard later.
The New York Times reported that David L Reed of the University of Florida has been poking around with the DNA of human lice and the lice of other primates and monkeys, and has found some intriguing clues to human development. He has specialized in using the clues in the DNA of host specific parasites to mark the changes in the host behavior or development. (more…)

There has been a lot of research into the human genome. A few very interesting things came to my attention in reading about recent “evolutionary improvements” to some human Genes. It appears that evolutionary pressures can encourage genetic shortcuts that help the survival of one group. Sometimes these shortcuts can cause a lot of havoc. (more…)