This is the blog for Yale's undergrad course ANTH204: An introduction to the patterns and processes of human genetic variation. Topics include: human origins and migration; molecular adaptations to environment, lifestyle and disease; ancient and forensic DNA analyses; and genealogical reconstructions.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
"The downside of sex with Neanderthals"
A paper in this week's Science (original research article HERE) compares the whole genome sequences of modern humans and Neanderthals (and Denisovans) to identify specific functional regions of the human genome likely gained through 'admixture' (i.e. sex) with Neanderthals. Interestingly, one of these regions represents a variant of an HLA (immune-related) gene that's associated with auto-immune disorders like Behcet's disease.
The Guardian has a nice summary of this research HERE.
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