Head Lice Teaches Us About Human Evolution

They are the bane of our existence and a nightmare for all parents. Is it a bird? A plane? It’s…head lice.

In all seriousness though, head lice can teach us a thing or two about human evolution according to David Reed, Associate curator of mammals at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Scientists Discovering Clues to Human Evolution with Help of Bloodsucking Louse

Generally, scientists find clues to human evolution with the help of fossil fuels left by our ancestors as well as the molecular trail encoded in human genome. However, some researchers are turning to another, quite unlikely source: the common head louse.

As surprising as it is, lice and humans have been closely associated, in spite of man’s insistence to get rid of these bloodsucking parasites. The associate curator further stated head lice can become a potential reservoir of invaluable information for individuals interested in human evolution and history.

Man Alone Didn’t Make Evolution History – the Common Head Louse Helped

As per this theory, a few louse hitchhiked when man went through its human evolutionary phase. This is the time when modern humans socialized with Neanderthals and put on clothing for the first time, before even leaving Africa.

Head Lice – Can Give a Record of Long Gone Ancestors?

Lice are known to infest many animals. These bloodsucking parasites are excellent trackers for their host’s evolution! Lice spend their entire lives on their host and die after being out of touch for even a short period of time. They also infest only a single species of hosts.

That being said, lice genomes can possibly reveal information about different interactions between our long gone ancestors and distant relatives.

For instance, did you know the human pubic lice originally originated from gorilla lice?

Disgusting (and borderline crazy) as it is, this also tells us humans and gorillas were pretty close back then.

Researchers are continuing to work toward the better understanding of human evolution history encoded in lice DNA. Although the above research hasn’t yet been vetted by official peer-review process, the general theory is supported by computer simulations of lice genetic evolution. Quite interesting, is it not? Stay tuned for everything lice related by visiting Lice Busters blog!