How Stomach Bacteria Can Trace Prehistoric Events

A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin and the University of Cork in Ireland discovered a new genetic strain of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) in people inhabiting Australia and some parts of the Pacific region. By tracing back in time, they verified that this vast area was populated by two completely different groups of early humans.

Two different forms of the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori show that the human settlement of Australia and the Pacific islands was undertaken from different routes.

via www.mpg.de