European Neanderthals had ginger hair and freckles [ and Type O blood ]

Telegraph ^ | December 29, 2008 | Edward Owen

[SunkenCiv]

The gene known as MC1R suggests the Neanderthals had fair skin and even freckles like redheads. After analysing the fossil bones found in a cave in north-west Spain, the experts concluded they had human blood group "O" and were genetically more likely to be fair skinned, perhaps even with freckles, have red or ginger hair and could talk... The report, published in BMC Evolutionary Biology, concludes that: "These results suggest the genetic change responsible for the O blood group in humans predates the human and Neanderthal divergence" but came "after humans separated from their common ancestor ... chimpanzees." ...One gene known as MC1R suggests the Neanderthals had fair skin and even freckles like redheads. Another, a variety of FOXP2, is related to speaking and the capacity to create a language and therefore suggests they could communicate orally... Since 2000, archeo-paleontologists, wearing special sealed white suits, masks and helmets have been painstakingly sifting through 1,500 bone fragments found in the "Tunnel of Bones" in the Sidrón cave complex in Borines, Asturias, north-west Spain. Unnatural striations in the bones suggest that the Neanderthals practised cannibalism and broke the bones to pick out succulent bone marrow. But why this group died, without wild animals discovering and contaminating their remains, or why indeed the Neanderthals in general became extinct, still remains a mystery... One theory is that they succumbed to an ice age or another, more sinister, is that they were wiped out by the arrival of our more direct human ancestors from Africa.

[GSP.FAN]

Really?

[SunkenCiv]

[Salamander]

If humans evolved from apes, why do we still have apes?

Are they the evolutionary underachievers?

[Tainan]

"There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman"

[Cyber Ninja]

Ginger hair - check - and freckles - check - Type O blood- not sure.

[MyTwoCopperCoins]

http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103676/

[Salamander]

Bonaduce rules.

[MyTwoCopperCoins]

If humans evolved from apes, why do we still have apes?

Humans didn't evolve from apes. Both evolved from a common ancestor.

[SunkenCiv]

...the genes for blood type reside on chromosome 9 (this was in Matt Ridley's "Genome") and the genetic sequence that produces type A are nearly the same as type O (which produces no distinctive protein) -- type O is the same sequence as type A, with the first base pair (or maybe it was the first "word" of three base pairs; I'm too lazy to look) missing. Type A and type B are very similar, but produce different proteins. Type B is about 15 per cent of the population; type A is 40 per cent, as is type O; type AB is the result of having the A and B coding on the same chromosome and is about 5 per cent of the population.

And there's more:

More Biochemistry and "Bombay phenotype"
by Robert J. Huskey

An interesting situation arises when an individual is not able to make the "H" antigen. Such a person cannot produce the "H" antigen and even if the "A" or "B" enzymes are present, cannot make "A" or "B" antigen since there is no precursor for the antigens to act upon. An individual who cannot produce the "H" antigen will appear to have blood type "O" since this blood type is a negative category (not-A, not-B, not-A and not-B). This was first documented in Bombay and has become known as the Bombay phenotype and has been exploited on the popular soap opera General Hospital.

To my eye type A seems to be the original bloodtype, producing the others through mutation. The exceptions may be the MN bloodtype system, which comes from the Indian subcontinent, and are analogous (but not the same thing as) to A & B (codominant), AFAIK (it's often difficult to find anything about the MN system, which is in a very small number of people worldwide). Strange, isn't it, that a completely unrelated bloodtype system exists (still exists? recently sprang into existence?) after centuries, even millennia, of contact, intermarriage, and commerce, all over the world?

[GSP.FAN]

This guy ruled...

[Lauren BaRecall]

Me too! FReepmail me if you need a blood transfusion!

[Salamander]

As one with Danish blood, I’ll accept that...:)

[PennsylvaniaMom]

I am a fair, freckled, redhead, with blue eyes, Type O blood....and my dentist has trouble Novacaine working on me (bony ridge???).

I demand reparations and quotas!!!

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

“I’m a freckled redhead with type B blood. I am my own race! The superior one.”

Ah Ha! I have you trumped - I have Type A :)

[Snickering Hound]

[Former Dodger]

Guess they’re going to have to re-cast those GEICO caveman commercials.

[Islander7]

I'm a sucker for red hair and freckles.



As a descendant of Scotland, it must be a genetic thingy.

[JoeProBono]

[Pyro7480]

Red hair and BROWN eyes. That's a rare combination. She's like Kari from Mythbusters (I don't know if she is an actual redhead, but she certainly has the complexion for it.)

[NavyCanDo]

Nothing will squash my belief that the cave women looked liked Barbara bach in a fur bikini poster I had on my bedroom wall as a kid.