Hybrid Neanderthal/Denisovan first generation child

[wnylib]

Last edited Tue Jun 7, 2022, 07:04 PM - Edit history (1)

DNA analysis of remains of 13 year old reveals a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father. This is the first time that a first generation hybrid, with 50/50 DNA has been found.

The article suggests that part of the reason that Neanderthals and Denisovans no longer exist is that they were absorbed into the Sapiens population through interbreeding rather than due to disease or inter species fighting.

According to the article, everywhere in Asia and among Native Americans there is less than 1% Denisovan DNA. There is 5% Denisovan DNA in Papua New Guinea and among Aboriginal Australians.

One Denisovan legacy is a mutatin of gene EPAS1 that makes it easier for the body to access oxygen. This gene is found in 90% of Tibetans and 9% of Han Chinese.

I wonder if that gene variant accounts for the Native people of Peru where the people lived in the Andes Mountains and the Inca Empire used runners to carry messages at those mountain heights.

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-neandertal-mother-denisovan-fathernewly-sequenced-genome.html