Non-Africans Are Part Neanderthal, Genetic Research Shows

[Tank]

Non-Africans Are Part Neanderthal, Genetic Research Shows

ScienceDaily (July 17, 2011) — Some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals and is found exclusively in people outside Africa, according to an international team of researchers led by Damian Labuda of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center. The research was published in the July issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution.

"This confirms recent findings suggesting that the two populations interbred," says Dr. Labuda. His team places the timing of such intimate contacts and/or family ties early on, probably at the crossroads of the Middle East.

Neanderthals, whose ancestors left Africa about 400,000 to 800,000 years ago, evolved in what is now mainly France, Spain, Germany and Russia, and are thought to have lived until about 30,000 years ago. Meanwhile, early modern humans left Africa about 80,000 to 50,000 years ago. The question on everyone's mind has always been whether the physically stronger Neanderthals, who possessed the gene for language and may have played the flute, were a separate species or could have interbred with modern humans. The answer is yes, the two lived in close association...

So Neanerthals were genetically close enough to Homo Sapiens to mate with our ancestors and produce viable offspring. Amazing.

[joeactor]

You find the coolest stuff...

Also didn't realize that Neanderthals died out so recently.

Thanks Tank!

[Tank]

My pleasure  

[Tank]

Another commentry on the article http://news.discovery.com/human/genetics-neanderthal-110718.html

[Asmodean]

Good find, T! Just found the article today myself.

Pretty interesting, eh..? However, does that technically mean that non-africans are actually a different sub-specie of human than the African natives..? Now THAT would pour gasoline on them ultra-nationalist-racist-neo-nazi-types' fire... 

[Tank]

Good find, T! Just found the article today myself.

Pretty interesting, eh..? However, does that technically mean that non-africans are actually a different sub-specie of human than the African natives..? Now THAT would pour gasoline on them ultra-nationalist-racist-neo-nazi-types' fire... 

And there in a nutshell is the problem, the potential of the racist to say 'I told you so!'

Well humans have not evolved into a 'ring species' because sub-saharan africans can mate with any other humans and produce viable offspring. Closely related species can sometimes mate but produce sterile offspring for example a male donkey and a female horse produce a mule.

No doubt those with a racist agenda will exploit this discovery.

[Asmodean]

Yeah... I am indeed a bit worried that someone will use this actually quite fascinating discovery to draw yet another line across the already oh-so-split humanity.

[Tank]

One of the risks of scientific discovery is exploitation in a negative way, it always has been and probably always will be.

[Asmodean]

One of the risks of scientific discovery is exploitation in a negative way, it always has been and probably always will be.

Some people have the knack for reading between the lines where nothing really is there, so I suppose you are quite right in your assessment.

[Rizuidad]

I guess it all ends up the same, Dust and Tears. Eh?

[The Magic Pudding]

And there in a nutshell is the problem, the potential of the racist to say 'I told you so!'

I think we need to rehabilitate the Neanderthal image first.
Yes we have to reveal the conspiracy that painted the flute playing children of light as primitive.
They all had blond hair and blue eyes and spent their days reciting poetry, embracing a life of peace that left them vulnerable to the depredations of more primitive peoples. 

[Tank]

And there in a nutshell is the problem, the potential of the racist to say 'I told you so!'

I think we need to rehabilitate the Neanderthal image first.
Yes we have to reveal the conspiracy that painted the flute playing children of light as primitive.
They all had blond hair and blue eyes and spent their days reciting poetry, embracing a life of peace that left them vulnerable to the depredations of more primitive peoples.  

Well neanderthals did have bigger brains than we do. They could well have been more intelligent, but less aggressive than our ancestors and thus were killed of by a bunch of murdering, blood thirsty, tribalistic thugs.

[Asmodean]

I guess it all ends up the same, Dust and Tears. Eh?

That quote is too true for its own good...