What's in a kiss? Romantic kissing has been suggested as a possible reason that the virus behind cold sores spread millennia ago.
PARIS - The modern strain of the virus that causes cold sores has been traced back to around 5,000 years ago, with researchers suggesting its spread could have been propelled by the emergence of kissing.
So an international team of researchers screened the DNA of teeth in hundreds of people from ancient archaeological finds. "This was a bit surprising because it has been assumed that herpes is something that has co-evolved with humans for a very long time," she told AFP.She said that was still true: all primate species have a form of herpes and humans likely had a strain when they first left Africa.
"There is some textual evidence starting to show in the Bronze Age of kissing between romantic partners," Scheib said.The researchers said the earliest known record of kissing was a manuscript from South Asia during the Bronze Age, suggesting the custom may have also migrated from Eurasia into Europe.
Co-senior study author Charlotte Houldcroft, also from Cambridge, said that a virus like herpes evolves on a"far grander timescale" than Covid-19, which the world has watched mutate in a matter of months.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lara van Niekerk wins first gold for Team SA at Commonwealth Games | The CitizenOlympic 200m breaststroke champion Tatjana Schoenmaker took fourth place in the sprint final.
Read more »
Spain confirms first monkeypox-related death in EuropeSpain reported on Friday its first monkeypox-related death, the Spanish Health Ministry said, in what is Europe's first known death and the second outside of Africa in the current outbreak.
Read more »
TOM EATON | Shoot first, think later ... oh to be bulletproof like FikileThe transport minister’s latest utterances are so idiotic and archaic that if anyone else said them they’d be fired
Read more »
Mashiane biding his time to break into Sundowns first team | The Citizen'I know that it can only happen if I put a lot of effort in the way I train and play,' said the midfielder.
Read more »
English triathlete Yee wins first gold of Commonwealth GamesThe 24-year-old made up a deficit of 15 seconds following the bike section to overhaul long-time pacesetter Hayden Wilde on the run and finish the sprint-distance event in a time of 50 min 34 sec.
Read more »