Brutish and short? DNA 'switch' sheds light on Neanderthals

Reuters ^ | April 17, 2014 3:28pm EDT | SHARON BEGLEY

[PeterPrinciple]

the cellular equivalent of “on”/”off” switches that determine whether DNA is activated or not.

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So the genetic information is all there, it is just a switch. An how did all the genetic information get there?

I saw this in an article a few days ago. What I learned as recessive gene expression is now call mutation. Of course mutation means evolution but gene expression says something else.

[Monkey Face]

BWAHAHAHAHA! Good one!

[PeterPrinciple]

From Wikipedia: Race is an artificial construct that means what ever we want it to mean:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(classification_of_human_beings)

Race is a classification system used to categorize humans into large and distinct populations or groups by anatomical, cultural, ethnic, genetic, geographical, historical, linguistic, religious, and/or social affiliation.

[pabianice]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_Little_Boy

[jameslalor]

*any word* is an artificial construct that means what ever we want it to mean.

There, fixed it for you. Words may be artificial constructs, but we use them to refer to real and measurable things.

[null and void]

epi-ping

[BroJoeK]

Cowboy Bob: "wouldn’t the Neanderthals be considered a “race” if they existed today?"

PeterPrinciple: "From Wikipedia: Race is an artificial construct that means what ever we want it to mean:"

Biologically speaking, the most important distinction is between populations which can & do interbreed, and those which can't & don't.
But it's a sliding scale, where interbreeding becomes increasingly difficult the longer different populations are separated from each other.
"Species" are considered at least minimally capable of interbreeding, while separate "genera" cannot under normal conditions.

In the case of Neanderthals, they were until recent years considered to be so separate they could not interbreed with modern humans, and were therefore at least a separate species, if not their own genus.
But very recent DNA analysis shows both that a) they were much more similar to us than expected and b) there was some actual interbreeding going on -- enough to give non-African humans 1% to 4% Neanderthal DNA.

That makes Neanderthals certainly the same species, but were they a separate "sub-species" or "race"?
The answer is: they were more different from us than we are from each other.
So they were more than just another "race".
"Sub-species" sounds about right.

And we can add to that growing list of human sub-species: Neanderthals, Denisovans, "Hobbits", "Red Deer Cave People" and Idaltus.

[PeterPrinciple]

There, fixed it for you. Words may be artificial constructs, but we use them to refer to real and measurable things.

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I remember taking a course on nematology. One of the ways to classify them was to cut off the rear ends, squash them on a slide and look at the patterns.

I always thought that might be a better way to classify humans than skin color, etc.....................

patterns on your ass are real and measureable but is it a good measurement?

[devolve]

- Just to “peace off” some (alleged) people :

- Those that consumed meat (high protein) have a certain size brain; those that ate veggies had or have a brain 15% smaller - to add to the mix certain “peeps” consume lots of pot - which the top medical guys say produces a permeant drop off 7% in IQ. Now Barack Hussein II claims it is not worse than beer - but then he refuses to produce authentic records of his education and transcripts - submit to certified MENSA shrink for testing? Fagettaboutit -

- Off on another path - The Russkies did some careful testing of modern breeds of dawgs. They isolated them, did not allow human contact with them, etc. Within some 10-15 generations they had regressed to the level of wolves.

- All animals of a species are the same? Really?

A Border Collie and many dawgs of the “I can’t get this towel off my head in five minutes” brood are from different planets. - This was on PBS-TV some years back - but i think some lefties decided this could make some watchers start thing about the Bell Curve…...

- Does that explain why Barack Hussein #2 cannot play golf, cannot bowl, cannot throw a baseball like a male (or even many girls?), cannot sink more than 2 or 3 out of 22 shots on a basketball court? Huh?

[blam]

"I don’t think the Neanderthal’s DNA died out - ever take a look at FLOTUS Moochelle?"

Africans have no Neanderthal DNA, only European and Asians with Asians having a tad more than Europeans.

Then....there's the Denisovans:

Denisovan DNA suggests a dark complexion and interbreeding

[Cronos]

More like the brown man

[Cronos]

The different human races are closer to 100% genetically identical. We are all one species, the races idea is false, culture matters more

[MUDDOG]

stronger bodies, better adapted to the physical rigors of Stone Age life

Better... stronger... faster.

Steve Austin will be that man.

[Cronos]

You mean East Asians. Middle easterners and indian continentals have the same variance as other Caucasians

[blam]

"You mean East Asians. Middle easterners and indian continentals have the same variance as other Caucasians"

Yes.

Higher Levels of Neanderthal Ancestry in East Asians Than in Europeans (Wall et al. 2013)

Then there's this:

Europeans have three times more Neanderthal genes for lipid catabolism than Asians or Africans

[devolve]

- Jeremy Clarkson of “Top Gear” : “More powerful, faster…….”

- (and shredding the tires of his screaming Mercedes AMG in a few laps)