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DNA From Neanderthal Relative May Shake Up Human Family Tree
sciencehabit writes: In a remarkable technical feat, researchers have sequenced DNA from fossils in Spain that are about 300,000 to 400,000 years old and have found an ancestor—or close relative—of Neanderthals. The nuclear DNA, which is the oldest ever sequenced from a member of the human family, may push back the date for the origins of the distinct ancestors of Neanderthals and modern humans.
Prepare yourself to one day anticipate a conclusion that might be mildly interesting.
Thanks Slashdot! But why didn't you post a story warning us we might someday see this story (about what we might someday know -- about some stuff that happened a million years ago)?
This is a great breakthrough in analyzing ancient human origins. It would be interesting to use this technique to gain more insight on the origins and migration patterns of early north and south american populations. The Bearing Sea land bridge and south american sea voyage origins are still very confusing and incomplete.
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Donald Trumps hair?
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
There may be another Bush in there...
This is some of the coolest scientific research being conducted in the world. A new record for the oldest sequenced human-lineage DNA.
That's not quite how it works.
Species A doesn't suddenly become Species B on a given date; instead specific tribes of Species A may live in a climate where it gets increasingly cold, meaning only those hardiest to cold survive and over a long period of time become Species B. However, other tribes of Species A live where the climate remains warm, has no selection for hardiness against cold (perhaps even a selection against it if the heat easily exhausts them), and remains Species A even while Species B starts thriving.
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Don't shake the human family tree, it's very old, it might topple.
See this is the problem with always using 'anonymous coward'. We need to mix it up and add anonymous idiot, unidentified twit, mysterious prat and others to more accurately describe the poster.
Predation, disease, socialization skills, and even fertility would play a role in diversifying early tribal groups.
It is correctly reported ubiquitously what the invention of mass travel has done for human populations, but from 5000-3000 BC, the domestication of the horse improved man's ability to move all out of previous proportion.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
did your TV religious evangelical tell you that? unfortunately, they have big problems with comprehension so don't trust them (or send them money)
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
And to make it harder, the concept of a species is fluid and artificial. It's not like Homo Neanderthalis just popped up de novo. There were undoubtedly populations of mixed breeds, localized variants and quite possibly early politicians rummaging around the oyster middens. Our fossil record is incredibly incomplete so even small additions to the database are likely to change our views on things dramatically.
Hopefully, as techniques improve we will be able to get more data from older fossils, fossils that are poorly preserved and fossils that are in collections where the curators haven't allowed for destructive sampling. The entire field has benefited enormously from pushing the sequencing technology forward.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Interesting.^
In the pursuit of convictions, and occasionally an exoneration, law enforcement has really helped advance some of this technology.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
I thought species meant only (or mostly) being able to breed with itself?
There is no such thing as advanced in evolution as if there is a goal. Evolution is about better fitting to the environment.
Horses, donkeys and zebras say hi.
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My only problem with this is chromosome counts. Humans have 23 pairs (assuming a healthy individual). Most of the great apes have 24 pairs. Some monkeys hare more, but others have less. I don't know about Neanderthal and other Homo species, but I assume they also have 23 pairs. This means that some species jumps are discrete and not gradual. This means that there can be a single date where a new species appeared.
And I've never heard a satisfactory explanation for how this discrete jump happens. Most changes to chromosome count result in sterile offspring. The explanations that I've heard either didn't make sense, or they were so filled with jargon that I couldn't understand them.
Your problem is that thinking of chromosome counts as some absolute barrier. It isn't. You can indeed have successful breeding with different chromosome counts. So it is still gradual.
Also, you mistake "most" for "all." Most means "not all." You could also take the opposite, and say "some. For example, "Some changes to chromosome count result in viable offspring."
So, if there's modern homo sapiens (black people) and there's modern homo sapiens crossed with neanderthals (europeans) and there's modern homo sapiens crossed with Neanderthals cousins (Denisovins) and out of those three basic groupings the ones that are homo sapiens crossed with neanderthals (or cousins) are the smarter ones.....question is...
Are the original strain (africans) just plain not as advanced as the hybrids ?
'Hybrid vigor'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
The downfall of 'master racism'. Racial purity is doom.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
That's not quite how it works.
Species A doesn't suddenly become Species B on a given date; instead specific tribes of Species A may live in a climate where it gets increasingly cold, meaning only those hardiest to cold survive and over a long period of time become Species B. However, other tribes of Species A live where the climate remains warm, has no selection for hardiness against cold (perhaps even a selection against it if the heat easily exhausts them), and remains Species A even while Species B starts thriving.
The funniest thing is that Darwins 'On the origin of species' never addresses the origin of species, never even touches on how species originate.
Speciation events are still a mystery. Probably connected to the 'tree of life' being more of a digraph than a tree. Its a LOT harder to model evolution than Darwin ever thought.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
As well as ligers etc. The equines just came to mind first. You can point to wolves and dogs as well as a direct example of the next 'step' of evolution while the previous one still flourishes.
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See this is the problem with always using 'anonymous coward'. We need to mix it up and add anonymous idiot, unidentified twit, mysterious prat and others to more accurately describe the poster.
My impression was that the post you are replying to has an implied /s tag.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Oh sure, that's the only reason anyone ever does anything. So where's the money coming from? Do you have any evidence that scientists are rich, other than the data in your rectal database? It also appears that you do not understand the scientific method. All knowledge is provisional. The only exception seems to be faith-based "knowledge", which is by nature untestable.
A good find. Too bad they haven't found any dragon skeletons yet. May help explain how different civilizations around the world all have dragon myths and legends without having contact with each other. At least with this find out more about our own history.