While important strides have been made in genetics and human evolution in the past year, the most notable achievement must go to a new Nobel laureate Svante Pääbo. Born in Sweden in 1955, Pääbo has long been a leader in the field of ancient DNA, especially when it comes to humans and our closest relatives.
In 2010, Pääbo’s team deciphered the Neanderthal genome, unlocking a whole new realm of anthropological insight. Pääbo has also been at the forefront of new discoveries in anthropology, including identifying the Denisovans and understanding the genetic relationships among Denisovans, Neanderthals and our own species, as well as identifying the first early human Neanderthal-Denisovan hybrid. For these reasons and more, Pääbo was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, a fantastic way to round out 2022. Congratulations!While important strides have been made in genetics and human evolution in the past year, the most notable achievement must go to a new Nobel laureate Svante Pääbo. Born in Sweden in 1955, Pääbo has long been a leader in the field of ancient DNA, especially when it comes to humans and our closest relatives.
In 2010, Pääbo’s team deciphered the Neanderthal genome, unlocking a whole new realm of anthropological insight. Pääbo has also been at the forefront of new discoveries in anthropology, including identifying the Denisovans and understanding the genetic relationships among Denisovans, Neanderthals and our own species, as well as identifying the first early human Neanderthal-Denisovan hybrid. For these reasons and more, Pääbo was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, a fantastic way to round out 2022. Congratulations!
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/fourteen-discoveries-made-about-human-evolution-in-2022-180981344/
What does it mean to have Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA?
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Several direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies report how much DNA a person has inherited from prehistoric humans, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. This information is generally reported as a percentage that suggests how much DNA an individual has inherited from these ancestors. The percentage of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans is zero or close to zero in people from African populations, and is about 1 to 2 percent in people of European or Asian background. The percentage of Denisovan DNA is highest in the Melanesian population (4 to 6 percent), lower in other Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander populations, and very low or undetectable elsewhere in the world.
https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/dtcgenetictesting/neanderthaldna/