Woolly mammoths and Neanderthals may have shared genetic traits
A new Tel Aviv University study suggests that the genetic profiles of two extinct mammals with African ancestry -- woolly mammoths, elephant-like animals that evolved in the arctic peninsula of Eurasia around 600,000 years ago, and Neanderthals, highly skilled early humans who evolved in Europe around 400,000 years ago -- shared molecular characteristics of adaptation to cold environments.
The research attributes the human-elephant relationship during the Pleistocene epoch to their mutual ecology and shared living environments, in addition to other possible interactions between the two species. The study was led by Prof. Ran Barkai and Meidad Kislev of TAU's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and published on April 8 in Human Biology.
"Neanderthals and mammoths lived together in Europe during the Ice Age. The evidence suggests that Neanderthals hunted and ate mammoths for tens of thousands of years and were actually physically dependent on calories extracted from mammoths for their successful adaptation," says Prof. Barkai. "Neanderthals depended on mammoths for their very existence. They say you are what you eat. This was especially true of Neanderthals; they ate mammoths but were apparently also genetically similar to mammoths."
Neanderthal and Woolly Mammoth Molecular Resemblance: Genetic Similarities May Underlie Cold Adaptation Suite (DOI: 10.13110/humanbiology.90.2.03) (DX)
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Study: Neanderthal genes may be liability for COVID-19 patients:
Researchers Hugo Zeberg and Svante Paabo determined that the genes belong to a group, or haplotype, which likely came from Neanderthals. The haplotype is found in about 16% of the population in Europe and half the population in South Asia, while in Africa and East Asia it is non-existent.
[...] The genes are one of several risk factors for COVID-19, including age, sex and pre-existing conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart problems.
Zeberg and Paabo, who work at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, noted that the prevalence of the particular Neanderthal gene group is highest in people from Bangladesh, where 63% are estimated to carry a copy of the haplotype.
They cited studies from the U.K. showing that people of Bangladeshi descent have about two times higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than the general population.
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(Score: 2, Interesting) by aristarchus on Friday April 12 2019, @12:54AM (6 children)
And my Alt-right cannibals submission was rejected for this?
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 12 2019, @01:02AM
Look at this disgusting alt-right discrimination:
https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=32546¬e=&title=Google+bias+had+measurable+impact+on+midterms [soylentnews.org]
This is, IMHO, proof that SoylentNews is in on it. SoylentNews is part of the conspiracy with Google, Facebook, Twitter, Patreon, Pay Pal, and even large banking institutions.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Friday April 12 2019, @04:11AM
de gustibus non disputandum est ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 12 2019, @02:30PM
They thought your article was in bad taste.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday April 12 2019, @05:56PM (1 child)
You've certainly piqued my interest. You should put that one in your journal.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday April 12 2019, @07:52PM
Gone, perhaps, but not forgotten! Bad taste, or are the eds hiding something? https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=32945 [soylentnews.org]
All Posts regarding Tucker Carlson seem to be deep-sixed. But maybe that is a matter of having standards.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Saturday April 13 2019, @01:01AM
It wasn't cannibalism, it was because it gets mighty lonely on those cold winter nights in a cave. Same reason why the current population of Wales shares DNA with sheep.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 12 2019, @12:54AM
Back then, Neanderthals bred with mammoths. Today, Muslims breed with goats. This is proof that Muslims evolved from Neanderthals, and goats from mammoths. What else would you expect from research published by the University of Tel Aviv?
(Score: 5, Funny) by Snotnose on Friday April 12 2019, @01:57AM (1 child)
You can invent stone axes. You can invent fire.
But fark 1 woolly mammoth and what are you remembered for?
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 12 2019, @06:11AM
My guess is "for the gigantic bloodstain left behind in the mammoth-sized ass print in the turf."
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Arik on Friday April 12 2019, @04:24AM (3 children)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 12 2019, @06:12AM
And you've been getting ignored because you are using the term wrong. Parallel evolution refers to similar physical characteristics developing in unrelated species due to environmental constraints.
Coincidentally developing the same mutant gene is a coincidence, not parallel evolution.
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Friday April 12 2019, @01:33PM (1 child)
The two can be distinguished genetically. Convergent or parallel evolution modifies dissimilar gene sequences (defined by no or very distant common ancestors) to have similar recent changes functionally (as defined by sequence comparisons with genes under different environments). Contrarily, interbreeding means that sequences can be traced to recent common ancestors, which has been shown for the H.S./Neandertal pair. I am critical of these results too from the perspective of methodological difficulties (contamination issues) but it is certainly a possibility.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Saturday April 13 2019, @12:38AM
Correct.
"which has been shown for the H.S./Neandertal pair."
Doh.
The MRC for sapiens and neanderthals is somewhere on the order of a million years, probably on the near side.
NO ONE disputes RECENT COMMON ANCESTOR.
That's the entire point, and the question. The evidence for neanderthal/sapiens crossbreeding, insofar as I have seen, boils down entirely to identical genes OUTSIDE of the Y and MT areas, which might mean nothing more than that two very closely related species wound up with the same genes in response to very similar environment (same place, overlapping timeframe.)
This happens between humans and elephants! It happens between canines and entirely unrelated marsupials evolved to fit the same niche! Of course it should be expected between such closely related hominids.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 12 2019, @06:13AM
Huge surprise: multiple species in the same environment will likely evolve in similar ways that said environment favors. Anyone tell this lot about sharks and dolphins yet? That will blow their minds.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 12 2019, @08:01AM (1 child)
It appears that similar genetic similarities have been found between homo sapiens and amoeba. The molecular characteristics are thought to have been the result of adapting to the oxygen-laced atmosphere of ancient Earth.
"If you truly are what you eat", one commenter suggested, "then it's highly likely amoebas used to hunt homo sapiens in the early days". The species appears to be dormant now, but fears now arise that one day the species will rise up again and devour all of mankind.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday April 12 2019, @11:48AM
Necrotizing fasciitis.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2, Funny) by Only_Mortal on Friday April 12 2019, @10:52AM (1 child)
I knew we'd get to this slur... it's not true I tell you! We rode the mammoth into battle so there's cross contamination.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday April 12 2019, @11:51AM
I'm gonna ride it all night long
;)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---