“There are a lot of aspects of differences between species that can’t be solely obtained from DNA sequence,” said University of Michigan genetic anthropologist Noah Rosenberg, who wasn’t involved in the study. “But at the same time, the DNA sequence is a good place to start.”Scientists only found 88 hotspots of differences in our genetic code and that of Neanderthals. When more of the Neanderthal genome is sequenced, those may disappear entirely. But the differences between the species may be more in what genes are turned on or off rather than actual genome variation.
Such studies will occupy scientists for years to come. In the meantime, the researchers produced a more immediately stirring result. They compared the Neanderthal genome to genomes of five people from China, France, Papua New Guinea, southern Africa and western Africa. Among non-Africans, between one and four percent of all DNA came from Neanderthals.
On a functional level, the DNA was no different from our own, but bore telltale molecular marks of Neanderthal heritage.
Here's another source, testing the new embeddable tweet process:
A newly-mapped Neanderthal genome provides strong evidence that humans and Neanderthals interbred. http://ow.ly/1HVo1
Discovery_News
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