Scroll down for videoResearchers studying 7,000-year-old bones from Vietnam found evidence of genetic mutations linked to malaria, suggesting humans were combatting the parasite before switching from hunting-gathering to farmingCaused by parasites carried by mosquitoes, malaria is prevalent in marshes, swamps and tropical areas. Malaria is still a global health issue, with an estimated 229 million cases in 2019 alone, according to the World Health Organization. In 2015, Hallie Buckley, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, found genetic mutations in 7,000-year-old bones in Vietnam that suggested locals were fighting off malaria long before adapting to agriculture. Nearly 230 million cases of malaria are diagnosed each year, with more than 400,000 deaths. The team also found changes in bones excavated in a 4,000-year-old agricultural site in the same region as the 7000-year-old hunter-gatherer site.

Source: Daily Mail March 17, 2021 19:35 UTC