Comments on: Neanderthal DNA Shows They Rarely Interbred With Us Very Different Humans http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/ 80beats is DISCOVER's news aggregator, weaving together the choicest tidbits from the best articles covering the day\'s most compelling topics. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:01:14 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: James Ayers http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-67711 James Ayers Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:35:39 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-67711 Modern examples of interbreeding suggest that it is commonly a one gender phenomenon. For example, when Europeans settled North America it wasn't uncommon for European males to take Native American females as mates. The converse situation probably occurred but was more rare. Similar examples can be cited from all around the globe. Looking at ancient cultures, when Neolithic agriculturalists expanded out of the Middle East into Europe there is evidence that overtime females of the native paleolithic people were the preferred mates. Likewise, there may have been a preference such as Neanderthal males seeking amh females but amh males having little interest in Neanderthal females. Such a preference would not be shown by this study. Also, the Neanderthal species was very old. There were likely many mtDNA haplogroups. However there are very few Neanderthal remains to study. There is no way to rule out the possibility that one or more modern European haplogroups are Neanderthal in origin. There simply are not enough Neanderthal remains to test. Modern examples of interbreeding suggest that it is commonly a one gender phenomenon. For example, when Europeans settled North America it wasn’t uncommon for European males to take Native American females as mates. The converse situation probably occurred but was more rare. Similar examples can be cited from all around the globe. Looking at ancient cultures, when Neolithic agriculturalists expanded out of the Middle East into Europe there is evidence that overtime females of the native paleolithic people were the preferred mates. Likewise, there may have been a preference such as Neanderthal males seeking amh females but amh males having little interest in Neanderthal females. Such a preference would not be shown by this study. Also, the Neanderthal species was very old. There were likely many mtDNA haplogroups. However there are very few Neanderthal remains to study. There is no way to rule out the possibility that one or more modern European haplogroups are Neanderthal in origin. There simply are not enough Neanderthal remains to test.

]]> By: Thomas G. Hommes http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-40336 Thomas G. Hommes Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:12:28 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-40336 Our Eve's apparently do differ very much - perhaps not enough for interbreeding. I am curious about our Adam's. Since mules are not completely sterile there can be some Neanderthal DNA in white people. Our Eve’s apparently do differ very much – perhaps not enough for interbreeding. I am curious about our Adam’s. Since mules are not completely sterile there can be some Neanderthal DNA in white people.

]]> By: Roberta M. Soyars http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-40044 Roberta M. Soyars Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:31:50 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-40044 This article ("Global Warming May Have Helped Make the Incas Mighty") helps to confirm what I have been preaching (to mostly deaf ears) for the past two decades: Roberta's Law: "The only thing in the last 12,000 years, that could have been worse for Planet Earth than 'global warming', would have been lack of global warming!" How could the "human origins" guys have missed what really happened to the Neanderthals? They simply froze and starved to death, what could they eat besides each other? It's a miracle that so-called "modern man" survived! Sure, I'm all for a clean, poison-free environment. The real problem is pollution, that's a separate, but allied issue. Roberta M. Soyars This article (”Global Warming May Have Helped Make the Incas Mighty”) helps to confirm what I have been preaching (to mostly deaf ears) for the past two decades:

Roberta’s Law:

“The only thing in the last 12,000 years, that could have been worse for Planet Earth than ‘global warming’, would have been lack of global warming!”

How could the “human origins” guys have missed what really happened to the Neanderthals? They simply froze and starved to death, what could they eat besides each other?

It’s a miracle that so-called “modern man” survived!

Sure, I’m all for a clean, poison-free environment. The real problem is pollution, that’s a separate, but allied issue.

Roberta M. Soyars

]]> By: STEVEN http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-35289 STEVEN Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:41:52 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-35289 MABEY WE SHOULD TEST NEANDERTHALS OF DIFFERNT TIMES WITH DIFFERNT RACES SUCH AS NATIVE AMERICANS.I DONT KNOW IF THATS A GOOD IDEA BUT WE MIGHT MAKE A CONECTION. MABEY WE SHOULD TEST NEANDERTHALS OF DIFFERNT TIMES WITH DIFFERNT RACES SUCH AS NATIVE AMERICANS.I DONT KNOW IF THATS A GOOD IDEA BUT WE MIGHT MAKE A CONECTION.

]]> By: Batboysmother http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-27108 Batboysmother Sat, 16 May 2009 15:10:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-27108 Well, of course they interbred! They were men, were they not? It may have been that differences between species produced problematic results in offspring, similar to the results of breeding a donkey with a horse...Mules can't make more mules. Also, a modern human woman may not have been able to give birth to a hybrid child simply due to head size. These two senarios seem a common sense explaination for the absence of Neandertal hybrids in DNA. I suspect they were simply "absorbed"...in fact, I'm pretty sure my ex-boyfriend... Well, of course they interbred! They were men, were they not? It may have been that differences between species produced problematic results in offspring, similar to the results of breeding a donkey with a horse…Mules can’t make more mules. Also, a modern human woman may not have been able to give birth to a hybrid child simply due to head size. These two senarios seem a common sense explaination for the absence of Neandertal hybrids in DNA.
I suspect they were simply “absorbed”…in fact, I’m pretty sure my ex-boyfriend…

]]> By: rj http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-20245 rj Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:59:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-20245 To db; females only get mitochondrial DNA from their mothers, not their fathers, therefore it is only through the female line or ONLY the mother's mother that the mitochondrial DNA was passed. Not both grandmothers. To db; females only get mitochondrial DNA from their mothers, not their fathers, therefore it is only through the female line or ONLY the mother’s mother that the mitochondrial DNA was passed. Not both grandmothers.

]]> By: Johnny Peace http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-20242 Johnny Peace Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:40:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-20242 I WISH we had some evidence of Neandertals wearing ARMOR and battling anybody! Wow, what a spectacle! I WISH we had some evidence of Neandertals wearing ARMOR and battling anybody! Wow, what a spectacle!

]]> By: Martha http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-19029 Martha Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:20:19 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-19029 Neandertals wore armor and battled homo sapiens. Like many brutes in war, they took booty, which would include women. They began to prefer the more refined features of women to their own females, taking as many as they could. Unable to reproduce beyond one generation, like mules, they may have unwittingly designed their own quick demise. Neandertals wore armor and battled homo sapiens. Like many brutes in war, they took booty, which would include women. They began to prefer the more refined features of women to their own females, taking as many as they could. Unable to reproduce beyond one generation, like mules, they may have unwittingly designed their own quick demise.

]]> By: Rapido http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-18639 Rapido Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:27:15 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-18639 The results of this investigation actually shows that Neaderthals are more monkey then human. It proves for me again that Neaderthals are just a extinct monkey type, not human related at all. The results of this investigation actually shows that Neaderthals are more monkey then human. It proves for me again that Neaderthals are just a extinct monkey type, not human related at all.

]]> By: Jumblepudding http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-18355 Jumblepudding Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:39:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-18355 It seems obvious that somebody should single out living people with the most neanderthal-like traits and sample DNA from that group. Neanderthal reconstructions often so closely resemble living people, that some uneducated fail to see the difference between us and them at all and wonder what the fuss is all about. It seems obvious that somebody should single out living people with the most neanderthal-like traits and sample DNA from that group. Neanderthal reconstructions often so closely resemble living people, that some uneducated fail to see the difference between us and them at all and wonder what the fuss is all about.

]]> By: Thought http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-18298 Thought Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:15:09 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-18298 Also, the low level of testing on genes of 13 out of 35000 does not prove much. If there was a 2% interbreeding and most traits we selected out then there might only be a few differences and that might be lost in the error term we have within the population. People should also realise (And I'm not a scientist) that the ice ages came and went I believe every 25000 years... so there would have been constant flows out of Africa and Asia. Also, the low level of testing on genes of 13 out of 35000 does not prove much. If there was a 2% interbreeding and most traits we selected out then there might only be a few differences and that might be lost in the error term we have within the population.

People should also realise (And I’m not a scientist) that the ice ages came and went I believe every 25000 years… so there would have been constant flows out of Africa and Asia.

]]> By: db http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-17869 db Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:28:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-17869 The conclusion is false. It appears to show that human males did not breed with Neanderthal females. It does not eliminate the possibility of Neanderthal males breeding with human females. In any event, over many generations it is quite possible that the mitochondria from neanderthal females could be replaced by that of human females by sheer volume of numbers and probability. For example, any new baby girl can inherit her mitochondria from either one of her two grandmothers. Thus, any putative female hybrid has a 50% chance of losing her Neanderthal mitochondria every single time her offspring mate with pure humans. So... this is bad science with terrible conclusions from the data. The conclusion is false.
It appears to show that human males did not breed with Neanderthal females.
It does not eliminate the possibility of Neanderthal males breeding with human females.
In any event, over many generations it is quite possible that the mitochondria from neanderthal females could be replaced by that of human females by sheer volume of numbers and probability.
For example, any new baby girl can inherit her mitochondria from either one of her two grandmothers.
Thus, any putative female hybrid has a 50% chance of losing her Neanderthal mitochondria every single time her offspring mate with pure humans.
So… this is bad science with terrible conclusions from the data.

]]> By: Lewis Bates http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-17769 Lewis Bates Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:58:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-17769 Neanderthal diet was 85% meat. Therefore much competition from Cro Magon man who also ate meat but not as much. We exterminated them because they took most of the available game. Old Norse tales of trolls may be a race memory of Neanderthals . Neanderthal diet was 85% meat. Therefore much competition from Cro Magon man who also ate meat but not as much. We exterminated them because they took most of the available game. Old Norse tales of trolls may be a race memory of Neanderthals .

]]> By: den meyer http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-17554 den meyer Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:28:40 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-17554 This stuff fascinates me. If interbreeding occurred it would have to show somewhere in modern day humans. Are we looking This stuff fascinates me. If interbreeding occurred it would have to show somewhere in modern day humans. Are we looking

]]> By: NeoThal http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/comment-page-1/#comment-17301 NeoThal Mon, 19 Jan 2009 04:58:40 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/08/neanderthal-dna-shows-they-rarely-interbred-with-us-very-different-humans/#comment-17301 Well if humans did not bread with Neanderthals then we still don't know where Rugby players came from? Well if humans did not bread with Neanderthals then we still don’t know where Rugby players came from?

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