Using the new and rapidly improving ability to piece together fragments of ancient DNA, scientists are finding that traits inherited from Neanderthals are still with us now, affecting our fertility, our immune systems, even how our bodies handled the COVID-19 virus.
People visit exhibits inside the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. Until recently, the genetic legacy from ancient humans was invisible because scientists were limited to what they could glean from the shape and size of bones. But there has been a steady stream of discoveries from ancient DNA, an area of study pioneered by Nobel Prize winner Svante Paabo who first pieced together a Neanderthal genome.
And the answers point to a profound reality: We have far more in common with our extinct cousins than we ever thought.Until recently, the genetic legacy from ancient humans was invisible because scientists were limited to what they could glean from the shape and size of bones. But there has been a steady stream of discoveries from ancient DNA, an area of study pioneered by Nobel Prize winner Svante Paabo who first pieced together a Neanderthal genome.
That may not sound like much, but it adds up: Even though only 100,000 Neanderthals ever lived, "half of the Neanderthal genome is still around, in small pieces scattered around modern humans," said Zeberg, who collaborates closely with Paabo. Similarly, a gene associated with blood clotting believed to be passed down from Neanderthals in Eurasia may have been helpful in the "rough and tumble world of the Pleistocene," said Rick Potts, director of the human origins program at the Smithsonian Institution. But today it can raise the risk of stroke for older adults. "For every benefit," he said, "there are costs in evolution.
Much less is known about our genetic legacy from Denisovans -- although some research has linked genes from them to fat metabolism and better adaptation to high altitudes. Maanasa Raghavan, a human genetics expert at the University of Chicago, said a stretch of Denisovan DNA has been found in Tibetans, who continue to live and thrive in low-oxygen environments today.
Plus, we had nimble, efficient bodies, Prendergast said. It takes a lot more calories to feed stocky Neanderthals than comparatively skinny Homo sapiens, so Neanderthals had more trouble getting by, and moving around, especially when food got scarce.
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