• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Humans may have been having kids with neanderthals much longer than we thought

Home> News> World News

Published 18:03 13 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Humans may have been having kids with neanderthals much longer than we thought

New research has also claimed these ancient humans were fornicating more frequently than first believed

Ella Scott

Ella Scott

Scientists believe modern humans and Neanderthals may have been creating offspring much earlier and more frequently than previous studies suggest.

According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, a human’s genome consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes located in the cell nucleus, as well as a chromosome in the cell’s mitochondria.

Therefore, the DNA pool contains everything an individual needs to develop and function as an adult.

Advert

Scientists have been studying genomes to uncover the truth. (Getty stock images)
Scientists have been studying genomes to uncover the truth. (Getty stock images)

In 2010, experts began exploring modern human genomes and discovered genomes from Neanderthals were present, as per IFL Science.

The working theory was that there had been some sexual contact between these ancient humans and now new research has cemented this idea further.

In a paper recently published in Science, researchers admitted they’d turned the 2010 study on its head by looking into how many modern human genes were present in the Neanderthal genome.

Advert

Results claimed that these ancient beings inherited as much as 10 percent of the modern human genome, thus further proving the pair had mingled in the past.

The study, spearheaded by Princeton University geneticist Joshua Akey, has been analyzing genomes in the hopes of discovering exactly when modern humans and Neanderthals began mingling.

The research saw the group study 2,000 living human genomes as well as three from Neanderthals and one Denisovan genome over 200,000 years.

According to the report, they found that modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthals began producing offspring between 200,000 and 250,000 years ago and that the dalliances were repeated 105,000 to 120,000 years ago and again around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.

Advert

That means modern-day humans traipsed from Africa to Europe to mate more times than was previously thought, says Akey.

“We now know that for the vast majority of human history, we've had a history of contact between modern humans and Neanderthals.

“To me, this story is about dispersal, that modern humans have been moving around and encountering Neanderthals and Denisovans much more than we previously recognized.”

To come to this conclusion, scientists studied the flow of genetic information over 200,000 years and discovered 2.5-3.7 percent of human ancestry present in Neanderthal DNA.

Advert

Neanderthals and modern humans are thought to have mingled earlier than originally believed. (Getty stock image)
Neanderthals and modern humans are thought to have mingled earlier than originally believed. (Getty stock image)

The study concludes that modern-day humans arrived in Europe from Africa to breed with Neanderthals around 200,000 years ago and later their genomes were likely assimilated into the Neanderthal populations.

“This is the first time that geneticists have identified multiple waves of modern human-Neanderthal admixture,” said Liming Li, a professor in the Department of Medical Genetics and Developmental Biology at Southeast University in Nanjing, China.

You can read the newly published study on gene flow between Neanderthals and modern humans here.

Featured Image Credit: Getty stock images

Topics: Science, History

Ella Scott
Ella Scott

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Scientists say new evidence suggests 'we may have been wrong about the origin of life'
  • The real reason why we yawn may have been discovered after scientists used bizarre experiment
  • 25,000-year-old ‘pyramid’ with ‘hidden chambers’ was unlikely to be made by humans
  • New study suggests warrior buried 1,000 years ago may have been non-binary

Choose your content:

25 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • Getty Stock ImageGetty Stock Image
    25 mins ago

    Woman forced to be vegan 'against her will' after developing allergy that's increasing in the US

    Daisy Holstine says she's dying for a Whopper burger

    News
  • Bettmann archives via Getty ImagesBettmann archives via Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Everything that was discovered inside Princess Diana's time capsule that she buried 34 years ago

    The Princess of Wales buried a time capsule at a hospital in 1991

    News
  • Zack D. FilmsZack D. Films
    an hour ago

    Shocking simulation reveals how 'world's deadliest knife' works during a shark attack

    The simulation video goes into detail on how the knife

    News
  • Getty Images/Steve JenningsGetty Images/Steve Jennings
    2 hours ago

    Freddie Mercury's alleged 'secret child' makes shocking claim about his death

    Freddie Mercury's alleged secret child has made a shocking claim about his death while blaming one of his close friends

    Music