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It's no secret to us that we all have a little Neanderthal in our DNA – a fact that scientists have for years attributed to the evolutionary version of a one-night conflict between early humans and their cousins primitive.
However, in this evolutionary romcom, an analysis of the human genome suggests that our ancestors engaged in a more serious relationship than a quick adventure – with results that show so far.
The study, which analyzed the distribution of Neanderthal DNA fragments among Europeans and contemporary East Asians, revealed that the latter population contained 12 to 20% of Neanderthal DNA in addition, far from the 2 % that scientists thought to be humans.
Researchers Fernando Villainea and Joshua Schraiber decided to test this discovery by comparing the Neanderthal DNA model in people of Eastern European and European ancestry, using data from the 1000 Genomes project. . They first separated the data between the two groups, thus proving the impact of several coupling events in both groups. They then studied the rates the frequency of Neanderthal DNA fragments between groups by creating crossover simulations showing the results of different numbers of mating between the two groups.
Map of encounters between different archaic hominins and ancient modern humans (AMH)
Fabrizio M
Simulation data were introduced into a machine learning algorithm that identified all the crossover events that could have led to observed Neanderthal DNA patterns.
"Thus, we think that a likely explanation of our findings is that gene flow between man and Neanderthal was intermittent and continuous, but in a region somewhat geographically restricted," the authors write in their report. article, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The discoveries not only show more complex ancestral relations between early humans and Neanderthals, but also reshape earlier views on the place occupied by Neanderthals in the history of mankind. It's been a long road since 1864, when scientists first classed hominids as a separate species of Homo Sapiens.
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