topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.44 0.28
DAX 6339.94 0.38
IBEX 30 6543 0.13
CAC 40 3047.94 0.32
FTSE 100 5351.53 0.03
AEX 292.76 0.23
DJIA 12454.83 -0.60
Nasdaq 2837.53 -0.07
FTSE MIB 13154.8 0.36
TSX Composite 11576.47 0.09
ASX 4109.6 0.70
Hang seng 18776.07 0.33
Straits Times 2773.55 0.03
ISEQ 20 500.94 1.55
You are here: Home News German News Scientists map Neanderthal genome

German News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


15/02/2009Scientists map Neanderthal genome

They will examine a number of genes that have been identified as playing a role in recent human evolution, including those implicated in brain aging and development that have been suggested to have come from Neanderthals.

Chicago -- In a development that could reveal how modern humans evolved differently than our closest prehistoric cousins, scientists have mapped a first draft of the Neanderthal genome.

"Studying the Neanderthal genome will tell us what makes modern humans really modern and really human," said Jean-Jacques Hublin of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology last week. "Why we are alone, why we have these amazing capacities that drove our ancestors to draw, paint" and develop complex tools, he said at a press conference.

Researchers used DNA fragments extracted from three Croatian fossils to map out more than 60 percent of the entire Neanderthal genome by sequencing three billion bases of DNA.

The analysis showed that it is highly unlikely that much interbreeding occurred as there was "very little, if any" Neanderthal contribution to the human gene pool, said lead researcher Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute.

But it also revealed that our Neanderthal cousins may have been closer to us than we thought: they share a gene that plays a key function in speech and language.

"How human were they and how would they have interacted?” Paabo asked. “We probably will never fully know. They are not very different from us from a genomic perspective."

Neanderthals and modern humans shared a common ancestor from which they diverged about 300,000 years ago.

The squat, low-browed Neanderthals lived in parts of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East for around 170,000 years but traces of them disappear some 28,000 years ago. Their last known refuge was Gibraltar.

Why they died out is a matter of furious debate because they coexisted alongside modern man.

Some argue the smarter Homo sapiens slowly wiped out Neanderthals in the competition for resources.

Others contend that the Neanderthal traits disappeared through interbreeding.

Paabo said the Neanderthal genome project will help answer why humans triumphed by "finding evidence of positive selection, of where something changed in our ancestors that really made a difference in how we reproduced and survived."

It will also allow researchers to identify which changes occurred in the human genome prior to divergence from Neanderthals and which occurred afterwards.

Paabo has organized a consortium of researchers from around the world to help analyze the Neanderthal genome.

They will examine a number of genes that have been identified as playing a role in recent human evolution, including those implicated in brain aging and development that have been suggested to have come from Neanderthals.

Results are expected to be published later this year.

AFP/Expatica


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating



0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Legal Problems in Germany

Visa employment help

Australians in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Irish in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Canadian in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Discuss German Culture

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
The ABCs of the German school system

The ABCs of the German school system

What you need to know about German schools and daycare.

German immigration and residency regulations

German immigration and residency regulations

Want to move to Germany but haven’t figured out the details? Check out Expatica’s overview of the German permit system.

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

In part one of our two part series, we cover the driving culture in Berlin, where to park and buy gas and, most importantly, the laws.

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Our comprehensive guide includes information on how to find work, recruitment agencies, employment contracts and labour law.