Posted on 01/16/2005 12:47:07 PM PST by IGBT
London - Red hair may be the genetic legacy of Neanderthals, according to a new study by British scientists.
Researchers at the John Radcliffe Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford were quoted by The Times as saying the so-called "ginger gene" which gives people red hair, fair skin and freckles could be up to 100 000 years old.
They claim that their discovery points to the gene having originated in Neanderthal man who lived in Europe for 200 000 years before Homo sapien settlers, the ancestors of modern man, arrived from Africa about 40 000 years ago.
Rosalind Harding, the research team leader, told The Times: "The gene is certainly older than 50 000 years and it could be as old as 100 000 years.
"An explanation is that it comes from Neanderthals." It is estimated that at least 10 percent of Scots have red hair and a further 40 percent carry the gene responsible, which could account for their once fearsome reputation as fighters.
Neanderthals have been characterised as migrant hunters and violent cannibals who probably ate most of their meat raw. They were taller and stockier than Homo sapiens, but with shorter limbs, bigger faces and noses, receding chins and low foreheads.
The two species overlapped for a period of time and the Oxford research appears to suggests that they must have successfully interbred for the "ginger gene" to survive. Neanderthals became extinct about 28 000 years ago, the last dying out in southern Spain and southwest France. - Sapa-DPA
neanderthals may have had red hair, but most experts beleive they were a different species and unable to interbreed with modern humans.
neanderthals may have had red hair, but most experts beleive they were a different species and unable to interbreed with modern humans.
never heard that before
Genghis Khan.
I have. DNA studies pretty much indicated that the neanderthal was a glorified chimpanzee.
LOL!
['Civ immediately checks his mail]
There could also be a difference in taste or view or mood.
As a rule I like marsupials but the Devil has such a screech I can't stand it. Watching and listening to them fight over food is memorable.
I'm not sure what you're refering to.
"Studies have shown that redheads feel 20% more pain and need 20% more anesthetic."
It has been my experience as a nurse and as a patient that redheads don't have good veins for IVs. Aren't we just so speshul?
On your head with the sword.
I'm not positive, but I think this one was the first FR topic you ever emailed to me:
Redheads 'are neanderthal'
Culture/Society News
Source: Times UK
Posted on 04/17/2001 07:38:43 PDT by sirgawain
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3adc5573604d.htm
Could be wrong. Now, I regard Neandertal ancestry as a given for most European descent folks, but you expressed dismay. Lucky for you that...
Gene for Red Hair May Help Suppress Pain in Women
Reuters via Yahoo ^ | March 24, 2003 | Linda Carroll
Posted on 03/25/2003 5:57:32 AM PST by Pharmboy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/874932/posts
ROFL That's another boat hanging on the wall.
Wiltshire is in the southwest of England and was the site of battles between the Anglo-Saxons and the Britons and between the English and the Vikings. English of North German and Danish heritage can be found here but so can other populations. The further East you go in England, the more likely the Nordic type will dominate. East Anglia, Yorkshire, and the Midlands are more likely to have the English types you picture.
I knew that. I just thought it made a nifty helmet in that picture.
I've been meaning to talk to you about all those boats. How far do you plan to go with this?
Oops --- I fell asleep at the wheel. No showing off by me when I'm snoozing.
http://images8.fotki.com/v148/photos/3/34603/664064/face-vi.jpg
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