The k2p blog

Neanderthal genes are everywhere

We seek them here, we seek them there,

We met them often – but when? And where?

They are in our skins and in our hair,

Neanderthal genes are everywhere

From, Sriram Sankararaman et al, The genomic landscape of Neanderthal ancestry in present-day humans. Nature, 2014; DOI:10.1038/nature12961

Harvard Press Release: Remnants of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans are associated with genes affecting type 2 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, lupus, biliary cirrhosis and smoking behavior. They also concentrate in genes that influence skin and hair characteristics. At the same time, Neanderthal DNA is conspicuously low in regions of the X chromosome and testes-specific genes.

Tags: Evolution, Modern humans, Neanderthals

This entry was posted on January 30, 2014 at 10:31 am and is filed under Anthropology, Evolution, Humans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.