1) In Carl Zimmer’s article,” Ghost DNA Hints at Africa’s Missing Ancient Humans” he educates the reader on a newly discovered ancestor of the homo sapien species and the scientists and research that helped in its discovery. The discovery of the species took a decade’s worth of research into the DNA of human fossils. This culminated when, “In 2010, a team of researchers published the first genome of a Neanderthal. Later, they found DNA from fossils in a Siberian cave called Denisova. That genetic material belonged to a second lineage of humans, called Denisovans, who proved to be closely related to Neanderthals.” The researchers then studied the fossils with those of other early human fossils, to make conclusions on the evolutionary capabilities of this specific species of humans. The researchers continue to ask many questions but they believe that places such as Africa may hold the answers to human evolution. This is because of two extremely intriguing fossils from Africa, fossils that gave clues to this intermediate species between Neanderthals and modern humans. They believe that through the information they can gather in these fossils, they will be exposed to a wide array of information on evolution and adaptation. Zimmer states, “The best test of the new study would ultimately be to get DNA out of a fossil, like the one at Iwo Eleru, and find a match to the segments identified by the scientists. Scientists have yet to succeed at that effort, because DNA quickly degrades in the tropics. But scientists have recently managed to get DNA from modern human remains in Africa dating back thousands of years, so there’s reason for hope. ‘That’s the gold standard,’ Dr. Sankararaman said. ‘I can’t wait for that to happen.’” The continent of Africa will prove to be the hub for human evolutionary research according to Zimmer, and through the continent, many questions on evolution will be solved.  The research conducted is imperative to the progression of evolutionary studies. It is interesting to me because it shows that evolution is not linear, and branched out more than I had previously expected.

2) In James Gorman’s article “Pangolins Are Suspected As Potential Coronavirus Host”, he researches whether or not the pangolin species, which is considered a delicacy in China(where the pandemic is concentrated) is either a victim or a suspect to the rapid and unexpected rise of the killer disease. It is said that the market for pangolins are perhaps the most lucrative of animal delicacies in China, all four Asian species being seen as endangered, they continue to be the most trafficked animal in the world. Though many claims that the virus had spread from bats, Gorman searches for conclusive evidence on whether or not the pangolin plays a part in this pandemic as well, or is it solely the bats that are to blame. Perhaps the most damning evidence against the pangolins is that “The virus was found in people associated with the [endangered animals] market, and in the [endangered animals] market environment – on surfaces, for instance, or in cages,” as stated by Gorman himself in the article. However, Gorman himself quickly refutes this through a claim by “However, some of the early cases, including what might have been the first reported case, were in people who were not associated with the market. Jon Epstein, vice president for science and outreach at EcoHealth Alliance in New York, said this means the first jump from animals to humans may not have occurred in the marketplace. People may have contracted the disease from animals at another location or earlier, as yet unknown cases may have contracted the disease at the market and passed it on to other people.” The article refutes and counters many claims, however, Gorman reaffirms that to determine whether or not an animal is a host of a disease is only determinable through thorough research. The article is important not because of its theory of pangolins being responsible for the disease but for the large-scale hunting of the animal that may have resulted in the disease spreading. It is important to realize that black market hunting is alive and is responsible for the deaths of millions of animals worldwide. It is interesting to me to see again, that the scale of the hunting of pangolins is so great that researchers are seriously considering it as a cause for the pandemic that surrounds us today.