Oh by the way...

[telophase]

...one of the burning questions of paleoanthropology has just been answered. Short version: the Neandertal genome has just been sequenced, and compared to the human genome, and offers strong evidence of interbreeding at one point. For the long version, go to this post by John Hawks. There's some discussion here as well.

Comments

[ebony14.livejournal.com]

Cue Creationists ranting in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ....

[matildarose.livejournal.com]

Just part of the liberal conspiracy!!!!

I remember hearing about this on NPR. XD

[gweneiriol.livejournal.com]

this is awesome!

*gets geek on*

[txtriffidranch.livejournal.com]

The fact that Svante Paabo is involved immediately jumps it to the top of my radar. He only makes announcements like this when the science is so solid you can use it for a stepladder.

[cicer.livejournal.com]

Daaaaamn. This is huge news!

[marumae.livejournal.com]

YES!!!! FINALLY!!! I saw some special on tv where a scientist examined one Neanderthal skeleton and ancient human skeleton and said "nooo they couldn't have possibly interbred" and I said YES BECAUSE ONE skeleton disproves an entire species that might have encountered them RIIIIIIGHT. \o/

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

The interesting thing to me is that it means we interbred *and created fertile offspring*.

Interbred as in "had sex with"? Well DUH. We humans will have sex with *anything*.

Interbred as in "resulted in offspring"? Also doesn't exactly surprise me. But I'd've expected any progeny to be "mules", and thus sterile.

The inescapable conclusion that the resultant progeny was *fertile*, though, is a Big Deal (at least to me). Kinda resolves the issue of whether Neandertals were a separate species or a subspecies/"breed" of H sap.

[unjapanologist.livejournal.com]

This kind of thing makes me wish I hadn't convinced myself paleontology was not for me by the time I went to uni. *goofy grin* Oh, and extra awesome points to the authors of that paper for using open data. Is that usual in paleoanthropology?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I don't know - I've been out of anthropology ever since I got my MA in 199mumble, so I know little of the state of the field today. :)