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Brutish and short? DNA 'switch' sheds light on Neanderthals
Reuters ^ | April 17, 2014 3:28pm EDT | SHARON BEGLEY

Posted on 04/19/2014 11:20:50 PM PDT by blueplum

New York (Reuters) - How can creatures as different in body and mind as present-day humans and their extinct Neanderthal cousins be 99.84 percent identical genetically?

Four years after scientists discovered that the two species' genomes differ by a fraction of a percent, geneticists said on Thursday they have an explanation: the cellular equivalent of "on"/"off" switches that determine whether DNA is activated or not.

:snip:

Calling the work "pioneering," and "a remarkable breakthrough," paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London said in an interview that the HOXD gene finding "may help to explain how these ancient humans were able to build stronger bodies, better adapted to the physical rigors of Stone Age life."

One caveat about the research is that one person's epigenome can vary markedly from another's due to diet, environment and other factors. It is therefore impossible to know whether the on/off patterns found in Neanderthal genes are typical of the species overall or peculiar to the individual studied.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dna; epigenome; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals; paleoanthropology
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To: blueplum

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


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.


21 posted on 04/20/2014 7:58:21 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple
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To: broken_arrow1

BWAHAHAHAHA! Good one!


22 posted on 04/20/2014 8:00:43 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Pleasing everyone is impossible but pi$$ing everyone off is a piece of cake.)
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To: jameslalor

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.


23 posted on 04/20/2014 8:01:28 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple
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To: blueplum

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


24 posted on 04/20/2014 8:20:56 AM PDT by pabianice (LINE)
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To: PeterPrinciple

*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.


25 posted on 04/20/2014 8:23:39 AM PDT by jameslalor
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To: Black Agnes

epi-ping


26 posted on 04/20/2014 8:39:25 AM PDT by null and void (...if you are too sure of your place in heaven you might be too arrogant to actually get there.)
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To: Cowboy Bob; blueplum; PeterPrinciple; SunkenCiv; jameslalor; devolve
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.

27 posted on 04/20/2014 10:31:59 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective....)
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To: jameslalor

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


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?


28 posted on 04/20/2014 11:11:03 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple
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- 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?


29 posted on 04/20/2014 3:16:40 PM PDT by devolve (- Tell VLADIMER after my ERECTION I have more 90% more FLEXIBILITY - I need more SPACE - Obama Jr -)
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To: broken_arrow1
"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

30 posted on 04/20/2014 3:30:47 PM PDT by blam
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To: Reeses

More like the brown man


31 posted on 04/20/2014 8:23:33 PM PDT by Cronos (ObamaÂ’s dislike of Assad is not based on AssadÂ’s brutality but that he isn't a jihadi Moslem)
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To: Cowboy Bob

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


32 posted on 04/20/2014 8:25:27 PM PDT by Cronos (ObamaÂ’s dislike of Assad is not based on AssadÂ’s brutality but that he isn't a jihadi Moslem)
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To: blueplum
stronger bodies, better adapted to the physical rigors of Stone Age life

Better... stronger... faster.

Steve Austin will be that man.

33 posted on 04/20/2014 8:30:07 PM PDT by MUDDOG
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To: blam

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


34 posted on 04/20/2014 8:34:55 PM PDT by Cronos (ObamaÂ’s dislike of Assad is not based on AssadÂ’s brutality but that he isn't a jihadi Moslem)
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To: Cronos
"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

35 posted on 04/21/2014 7:15:34 AM PDT by blam
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To: MUDDOG

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

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


36 posted on 04/22/2014 12:58:04 PM PDT by devolve (- Tell VLADIMER after my ERECTION I have more 90% more FLEXIBILITY - I need more SPACE - Obama Jr -)
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