Skeptix List
2016-02-12 10:05:50 UTC
Neanderthal DNA may account for nicotine addiction and depression
Matching modern genetic profiles against genes known to have been
inherited from Neanderthals has shown links to a wide range of current
disorders
The study discovered associations between Neanderthal DNA and a
wide range of modern traits, including immunological, dermatological,
neurological, psychiatric and reproductive diseases.
The study discovered associations between Neanderthal DNA and a wide
range of modern traits, including immunological, dermatological,
neurological, psychiatric and reproductive diseases. Photograph:
Michael Smeltzer/Vanderbilt Univ/PA
Tim Radford
Thursday 11 February 2016 15.00 EST Last modified on Thursday 11
February 2016 15.03 EST
Modern European and Asian people may owe more than skin or hair colour
to Neanderthal ancestry. Interbreeding 50,000 years ago between two
species of human may also have bequeathed a sunburn hazard called
keratosis, addiction to nicotine, and a greater risk of depression.
That the forebears of modern Homo sapiens and the long-extinct
Neanderthals lived side by side is well known: that they interbred,
and that up to 4% of modern human DNA is inherited from the first
Europeans, was confirmed only in 2010.
Human-Neanderthal relationships may be at root of modern allergies
US researchers examined a database of 28,000 patients whose biological
samples had been linked to versions of their medical records.
Identities remained anonymous but the researchers could see how
inheritance linked to medical history.
Then, they report in the journal Science, they matched the modern
human database against a map of those groups of genes known to have
been inherited from the big-boned, heavy-browed, red-haired humans
whose ancestors had moved out of Africa long before Homo sapiens, and
colonised Ice Age Europe.
Our main finding is that Neanderthal DNA does influence clinical
traits in modern humans, said John Capra, an evolutionary geneticist
at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. We discovered
associations between Neanderthal DNA and a wide range of traits,
including immunological, dermatological, neurological, psychiatric and
reproductive diseases.
Sub-Saharan African peoples do not inherit Neanderthal DNA. The
assumption is that the Neanderthals left Africa first, had time to
adapt to a colder, darker and more difficult world, evolved paler skin
colour to take advantage of less certain sunlight, and developed other
traits that might have helped them survive changing conditions.
Early modern humans more gracile, and perhaps quicker to adapt and
take advantage of their environment then migrated north from Africa
to outpace and outlive the first Europeans. But, during the thousands
of years the two species coexisted, they also interbred.
My Neanderthal sex secret: modern European's great-great grandparent
link
Read more
And these encounters passed on traits that might have been of some
evolutionary advantage in an Ice Age world. But in changing
conditions, the same lengths of inherited DNA contained greater health
liabilities as well.
One of these, the researchers think, was a Neanderthal gene variant
that increases blood-clotting. This would have sealed wounds more
quickly, and prevented infection more easily. But in a modern western
society, hyper-coagulation brings other problems, including greater
risk for stroke, pulmonary embolism and pregnancy complications.
One length of Neanderthal DNA is now linked to increased risk of
nicotine addiction, and several variants influence the risk of mood
disorders, including depression. As tobacco was introduced into
widespread use in Europe only 400 years ago, the researchers were
surprised at the number of Neanderthal genetic variants now associated
with modern psychiatric and neurological disorders.
The brain is incredibly complex, so it is reasonable to expect that
introducing changes from a different evolutionary path might have
negative consequences, said Corinne Simonti, a Vanderbilt doctoral
student .
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/11/neanderthal-dna-may-account-for-nicotine-addiction-and-depression
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---
Matching modern genetic profiles against genes known to have been
inherited from Neanderthals has shown links to a wide range of current
disorders
The study discovered associations between Neanderthal DNA and a
wide range of modern traits, including immunological, dermatological,
neurological, psychiatric and reproductive diseases.
The study discovered associations between Neanderthal DNA and a wide
range of modern traits, including immunological, dermatological,
neurological, psychiatric and reproductive diseases. Photograph:
Michael Smeltzer/Vanderbilt Univ/PA
Tim Radford
Thursday 11 February 2016 15.00 EST Last modified on Thursday 11
February 2016 15.03 EST
Modern European and Asian people may owe more than skin or hair colour
to Neanderthal ancestry. Interbreeding 50,000 years ago between two
species of human may also have bequeathed a sunburn hazard called
keratosis, addiction to nicotine, and a greater risk of depression.
That the forebears of modern Homo sapiens and the long-extinct
Neanderthals lived side by side is well known: that they interbred,
and that up to 4% of modern human DNA is inherited from the first
Europeans, was confirmed only in 2010.
Human-Neanderthal relationships may be at root of modern allergies
US researchers examined a database of 28,000 patients whose biological
samples had been linked to versions of their medical records.
Identities remained anonymous but the researchers could see how
inheritance linked to medical history.
Then, they report in the journal Science, they matched the modern
human database against a map of those groups of genes known to have
been inherited from the big-boned, heavy-browed, red-haired humans
whose ancestors had moved out of Africa long before Homo sapiens, and
colonised Ice Age Europe.
Our main finding is that Neanderthal DNA does influence clinical
traits in modern humans, said John Capra, an evolutionary geneticist
at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. We discovered
associations between Neanderthal DNA and a wide range of traits,
including immunological, dermatological, neurological, psychiatric and
reproductive diseases.
Sub-Saharan African peoples do not inherit Neanderthal DNA. The
assumption is that the Neanderthals left Africa first, had time to
adapt to a colder, darker and more difficult world, evolved paler skin
colour to take advantage of less certain sunlight, and developed other
traits that might have helped them survive changing conditions.
Early modern humans more gracile, and perhaps quicker to adapt and
take advantage of their environment then migrated north from Africa
to outpace and outlive the first Europeans. But, during the thousands
of years the two species coexisted, they also interbred.
My Neanderthal sex secret: modern European's great-great grandparent
link
Read more
And these encounters passed on traits that might have been of some
evolutionary advantage in an Ice Age world. But in changing
conditions, the same lengths of inherited DNA contained greater health
liabilities as well.
One of these, the researchers think, was a Neanderthal gene variant
that increases blood-clotting. This would have sealed wounds more
quickly, and prevented infection more easily. But in a modern western
society, hyper-coagulation brings other problems, including greater
risk for stroke, pulmonary embolism and pregnancy complications.
One length of Neanderthal DNA is now linked to increased risk of
nicotine addiction, and several variants influence the risk of mood
disorders, including depression. As tobacco was introduced into
widespread use in Europe only 400 years ago, the researchers were
surprised at the number of Neanderthal genetic variants now associated
with modern psychiatric and neurological disorders.
The brain is incredibly complex, so it is reasonable to expect that
introducing changes from a different evolutionary path might have
negative consequences, said Corinne Simonti, a Vanderbilt doctoral
student .
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/11/neanderthal-dna-may-account-for-nicotine-addiction-and-depression
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---