Neanderthal News and Research

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Shedding new light on the evolution of tuberculosis

Recent research suggests that the emergence of tuberculosis infection in human populations dates back tens of thousands of years earlier than previously known cases in the Middle East.

26 Dec 2023

Neanderthal genes make some humans more pain-sensitive

People with three Neanderthal-inherited gene variants in SCN9A are more sensitive to certain types of pain, revealing past interbreeding's genetic influence on modern humans. This study, led by UCL researchers, underscores pain sensitivity as a crucial evolutionary trait potentially shaped by Neanderthal genetics.

10 Oct 2023

Genetics and environment influence immune responses to SARS-CoV-2

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical spectrum observed among people infected with SARS-CoV-2 ranged from asymptomatic carriage to death.

24 Aug 2023

Genomes of modern humans shaped by admixture events

The course of human history has been marked by complex patterns of migration, isolation, and admixture, the latter a term that refers to gene flow between individuals from different populations.

19 May 2023

Neanderthal genes shape human noses

Research reports a study on the genetics of facial features in Latin Americans using automatic landmarking of 2D portraits and genome-wide association analysis. The study identified novel regions associated with facial features, including a region in 1q32.3 that shows introgression from Neanderthals and influences nasal height.

10 May 2023

Nose shape affected by genetic material inherited from Neanderthals

Humans inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that affects the shape of our noses, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

8 May 2023

Present-day humans share stronger genetic ties with Neanderthals than previously thought

Like a merchant of old, balancing the weights of two different commodities on a scale, nature can keep different genetic traits in balance as a species evolves over millions of years.

21 Feb 2023

Genes encoding T cell receptors vary greatly between persons and populations, study reveals

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have discovered that the genes encoding our T cell receptors vary greatly between persons and populations, which may explain why we respond differently to for example infections.

16 Feb 2023

How SARS-CoV-2 immune responses vary by population due to environmental and genetic factors

Researchers investigate the genetic, immunological, and evolutionary factors that determine the vast variability observed in clinical manifestations of COVID-19.

28 Nov 2022

Duke researchers find human DNA sequence divergence after split from common ancestor of chimpanzees

A team of Duke researchers has identified a group of human DNA sequences driving changes in brain development, digestion and immunity that seem to have evolved rapidly after our family line split from that of the chimpanzees, but before we split with the Neanderthals.

24 Nov 2022

A single genomic change may have given modern humans an advantage over Neanderthals

A single amino acid change in the transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1) protein may have given modern humans an advantage over more ancient contemporaries like Neanderthals by enabling increased neocortical neurogenesis, researchers report.

9 Sep 2022

Baboons at Amboseli offer clues to the costs of the hybridization, study says

New genetic analyses of wild baboons in southern Kenya reveals that most of them carry traces of hybridization in their DNA. As a result of interbreeding, about a third of their genetic makeup consists of genes from another, closely-related species.

5 Aug 2022

Study shows cellular differences in brain development between modern humans and Neanderthals

Dresden and Leipzig researchers find that stem cells in the developing brain of modern humans take longer to divide and make fewer errors when distributing their chromosomes to their daughter cells, compared to those of Neanderthals.

29 Jul 2022

Scientists uncover and sequence ancient herpes virus genomes that commonly cause lip sores

Ancient genomes from the herpes virus that commonly causes lip sores – and currently infects some 3.7 billion people globally – have been uncovered and sequenced for the first time by an international team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge.

27 Jul 2022

Neanderthal gene makes people susceptible to COVID-19, but protects against HIV

A study recently published in the top-tier journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) shows how a specific gene flow from Neandertals can act as a double-edged sword by increasing the risk for the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and at the same time decreasing the risk for the infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

23 Feb 2022

Study finds evidence to strongly implicate OAS1 as an effector gene influencing COVID-19 severity

Researchers demonstrated that this splice variant is likely to be the single nucleotide polymorphism responsible for the association at this locus.

17 Jan 2022

Change in glutathione reductase lowers inflammation in present-day humans

Very few proteins in the body have a change that makes them unique compared to the corresponding proteins in Neanderthals and apes.

5 Jan 2022

Identification of a candidate effector gene at COVID-19 risk locus

A new study focuses on developing a comprehensive platform to decode the effects of sequence variation identified by GWAS.

8 Nov 2021

Qatar genomics study reveals key historical and social insights into Arab populations

Researchers in Qatar have unveiled a high-resolution map of the genetic structure of Arab and Middle Eastern populations, providing new insights into human history in the region and ancestral patterns that may help to explain local human traits and disease risks.

15 Oct 2021

Comprehensive study of Middle Eastern DNA reveals ancient human adaptation to agriculture, climate change

The most comprehensive study so far of genetic diversity in the Middle East has given a glimpse into the lives of ancient humans who lived through such seismic events as the development of agriculture and the formation of the Arabian Desert.

4 Aug 2021