February 7, 2012
Published: 6 May 10 20:26 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20100506-27033.html
For the first time ever, German scientists have drafted a genome sequence for the Neanderthal and believe their results show that the extinct hominid interbred with humans.
External link: Max Planck Institute »
The Local (news@thelocal.de)
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Germany shivered through record low temperatures of -29 degrees Celsius overnight, but the German Weather Service has forecast an even deeper freeze ahead of snow showers midweek. READ (4 COMMENTS) »
Germany, holding up better than its eurozone partners in the current economic crisis, is battling the increasingly widespread phenomenon of "burnout" which is supposedly costing its economy billions of euros each year. READ (10 COMMENTS) »
Four young car thieves in the western German state of Saarland notified the police on Sunday night after they stumbled on the corpse of a small baby in the boot of a car they were breaking into. READ (4 COMMENTS) »
One of Germany’s most famous opera houses, Dresden’s Semperoper, gave teenagers front row seats to the premiere of its new production of Alban Berg’s “Lulu” – which centres on a murderous prostitute. READ (11 COMMENTS) »
Ernst Uhrlau, former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency the BND, has been on the payroll of Germany’s biggest bank since the start of February, just two months after his retirement. READ (2 COMMENTS) »
Increasingly citing Germany as a model for France, President Nicolas Sarkozy will look to give his re-election hopes a boost Monday in a joint TV interview with Chancellor Angela Merkel. READ (3 COMMENTS) »
A man had to be rescued from the frozen River Elbe in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday after his canoeing trip in sub-zero temperatures turned out not to be such a good idea. READ (5 COMMENTS) »
New figures on politically-motivated crime show a sharp increase in leftist crime in Germany last year, along with a slight fall in right-wing crime, it was revealed Monday. READ (1 COMMENT) »
See all ads | Join the Marketplace
1056 jobs available
667 new jobs this week
0 new jobs today
Dating
Looking for your own blonde bombshell? Or is the strong, silent type more your
style? Find a German sweetheart here.
Weather
"After clouds comes clear weather," say the Germans. But what about after that? Find out in The Local's weather
section.
Blog
German stuff that's distracting us today.
Noticeboard
Whether you want to buy, sell, hire, announce or promote something, here's the place to do it - completely free of
charge.
Discuss
Debate the news, ask for advice, make friends - or just let off steam.
Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss
Your comments about this article:
...and by extension, most Americans too ;-)
(btw, I'm assuming you were joking)
Sounds like BS to me. Except for war fare related rape I doubt if there was much interaction.
If the odds for identical species development appear astronomically out of this world our only other possibility is that Neanderthal and Homo S. shared an identical DNA ancestor. Oops! Now they've gummed up their own "Out of Africa" story.
According to OoA Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens can't be the same species. Unless Homo S./Neanderthal developed outside Africa and then returned and lost it's "Neanderthal" DNA, an idea which also doesn't make much sense but more so than the other requirements of the "Neanderthals and Humans interbreeding" fairytale.
As has been obliquely pointed out in other reports, this story is an indication that the recently popular view that humanity originated in Africa is not exactly true. Neanderthals apparently did not originate in Africa. Meaning the human race had more than one point of origin. Another blow for the truth over the dogma of political correctness?
@ rphillips@windstream.net
@everybody else that doesn't understand genetics
Homo neanderthalensis did originate in Africa. The genetic distinction came from being separated in the european continent for a lengthy period of time. Suggested reference material: World history.
Closely related species can often interbreed, but with mixed results. There is nothing that says the two species could not have breed with successful offspring after europe re-joined the world, so to speak. Suggested reference material: High school biology.
For a genetic timeline, consult this visualization: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/CurratExcoffierNeandethalmtDNA.png
Homo neanderthalensis's population is in light gray, Homo sapiens is in in dark gray, and the black area is where the two populations intermingled. The units are in generations.
For a timeline of general propagation of the Homo family, please see this chart: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Human_spreading_over_history.png
This doesn't damage evolution. It actually re-inforces it.
Dear God, why doesn't anyone pay attention in school anymore.
So...your school taught that Neanderthals were humans. That's interesting. My biology profs were quite distinct in classifying HN as a subspecies or separate species to HS. In non-politically correct biology this classification is an important determinant for genetic transfer and breeding. However your simplistic charts have changed my mind. That tiny bit of DNA differential in this article could only come about via succesful HN/HS breeding. I wonder how much DNA Homo Sapiens shares with drosophilia--60%? How about a banana, about 50%? Must be from interbreeding.
Seriously, my ancestors obviously never shagged Homo Sapiens!
@URsoTolerant - I was dreaming up all sorts of similar possibilities myself, especially wondering why they weren't attributing this to our common ancestor. As I said above, I think it's because it wasn't found in the Africans.
@Der Grenadier aus Aachen - I don't know about Germany, but in America I'm pretty sure that even paying attention won't afford you that kind of education. (I was homeschooled by Christian parents, so I definitely didn't learn any of this in school.) Even if it would, apparently American public schools are for socialization, not learning - especially the learning of science, that's really taboo (especially in the South). And I'm guessing a lot of these posters are from America, since I am and I found this article through a fellow American's Facebook post.