According to a published report, scientists have analyzed a toe bone from a 50,000 year old Siberian Neandertal woman. They found that from 1.0 to 7.1 percent of her DNA is human DNA. They also discovered that she shares more "modern" human DNA than two European Neandertals previously studied. It is known that humans have some Neandertal DNA Interestingly, this toe finding is the first time human DNA has been discovered in Neandertal genes.*
The report noted that "exactly who the humans were who mated with the Siberian Neandertal's ancestors isn't clear." Indeed, one wonders what the attraction was for a human to pursue a Neandertal or vice versa. Perhaps eligible mates were scarce in the tundra. Or, perhaps with limited sun in winter, it may have been difficult to determine who was what. Or, simply one was looking for love in all the wrong places.
Another article states that Melanesians living near Papua New Guinea mated with both Neandertals and with relatives of Neandertals called Denisovans. Melanesians have been found to have from 1.0 to 4.0 percent of their DNA from Neandertals and from 1.9 to 3.4 percent from Denisovans. DNA from these sources cover genes involved in metabolism and immunity, but not brain development.**
There you have the hot and cold of human mating evolution--from the South Pacific to Siberia. Perhaps it is understandable why a human might want to bundle with a Neandertal in Siberia to keep warm. It may be less obvious why that reason would be true in the South Pacific. Maybe it is as the song suggests, she just could not wash that "man" right out of her hair.
______________________________________________
* Saey,"Humsn DNA Found In Neandertal Bone,"
Science News, March 19, 2016, p.6
** Bower,"Melanesians Carry Denisovan Genes,"
Science News, April 16, 2016, p.8
No comments:
Post a Comment