![]() ![]() ![]() Paabo and his team also managed to extract DNA from a tiny finger bone found in a cave in Siberia, leading to the recognition of a new species of ancient humans they called Denisovans. People outside Africa have 1-2% of Neanderthal genes. This transfer of genes between hominin species affects how the immune system of modern humans reacts to infections, such as the coronavirus. "Paabo and his team also surprisingly found that gene flow had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, demonstrating that they had children together during periods of co-existence," she said. This included the time when modern humans and Neanderthals diverged as a species, determined to be around 800,000 years ago, said Anna Wedell, chair of the Nobel Committee. ![]() While Neanderthal bones were first discovered in the mid-19th century, only by unlocking their DNA-often referred to as the code of life-have scientists been able to fully understand the links between species. Paabo spearheaded the development of new techniques that allowed researchers to compare the genome of modern humans and that of other hominins-the Neanderthals and Denisovans. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |