We know about these prehistoric liaisons because they left permanent marks on our genome. Even though Neanderthals are now extinct, every living person outside of Africa can trace between 1 and 5 percent of our DNA back to them. (I am 2.6 percent Neanderthal, if you were wondering, which pales in comparison to my colleague James Fallows at 5 percent.) [...]
Some teams showed that Neanderthal DNA made its way into specific genes of interest, particularly those involved in the immune system. Others looked across the whole genome and showed that Neanderthal sequences cluster around genes that affect skin, hair, fat metabolism, and the risk of type 2 diabetes, cirrhosis, Crohn’s disease, and—bizarrely—smoking addiction (more on that later). [...]
Capra and his colleagues found significant associations between Neanderthal variants and a dozen phenotypes, including actinic kerastoses (patches of dry, scaly skin caused by sun exposure) and a hypercoagulable state (where blood clots form too readily in the body). [...]
More surprisingly, though, Capra’s team also found that Neanderthal DNA affects the risk of psychiatric disorders, including mood disorders and depression (which are new and unexpected). And 29 specific Neanderthal variants seem to influence when and where genes are turned on in different parts of the brain.
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