[wendy1946]

"This indicates that variation in bitter taste perception predates the divergence of the lineages leading to Neanderthals and modern humans," they said.

Humans and neanderthals are unrelated. The neanderthal has been ruled out as a plausible ancestor for modern man simply and precisely because the genetic gulf is too wide and the genetic gap between us and anything preceeding the neanderthal would have been wider. There is precisely nothing on this planet which we could be descended from via anything resembling evolution.

There has never been any "divergence of the lineages leading to Neanderthals and modern humans" and any similarities between us and neanderthals amount to similar design principles having been used.

[metmom]

Substances similar to PTC give a bitter taste to green vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cabbage as well as some fruits. But they are also present in some poisonous plants, so having a distaste for it makes evolutionary sense. "The sense of bitter taste protects us from ingesting toxic substances," the report said.

They've never seen a two year old in action.

[MichiganMan]

Humans and neanderthals are unrelated. The neanderthal has been ruled out as a plausible ancestor for modern man simply and precisely because the genetic gulf is too wide and the genetic gap between us and anything preceeding the neanderthal would have been wider. There is precisely nothing on this planet which we could be descended from via anything resembling evolution.

If I understand you correctly, you seem to be under the impression that the article is saying that homo-sapiens descended from neandethals. 

Without addressing what appears to be your skeptisism in the theory of evolution, that's not what the article said.  Its saying (and this is the currently accepted view among evolution believers (of which I am one)) that homo-sapiens and neanderthals each diverged from a common line of ancensters, a third undetermined clasification of hominid, not one from the other.