NEWS 31 August 2023 Human ancestors nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago A new technique analysing modern genetic data suggests that pre-humans survived in a group of only 1,280 individuals.

Between 300,000 and 100,000 years ago, evidence of modern humans was spread throughout the continent—more support for the multiple origins theory, Scerri tells Nature News.

Modern Japanese people largely originated from three ancestral groups and carry ancient DNA that may influence their risk of developing certain diseases, genetic analyses suggest.