Posted on 07/20/2006 4:06:56 PM PDT by CobaltBlue
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Leipzig, Germany, plan to reconstruct the genome of Neanderthals, the archaic human species that occupied Europe from 300,000 years ago until 30,000 years ago until being displaced by modern humans.
The genome will initially be reconstructed using DNA extracted from Neanderthal bones that are 45,000 years old, which were found in Croatia, though bones from other sites may be analyzed later.
The project is a collaboration between Dr. Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and 454 Life Sciences, a Connecticut company that has developed a new method of sequencing, or decoding, DNA.
The sequencing of Neanderthal DNA, long a forlorn hope, suddenly seems possible because of a combination of analytic work on ancient DNA by Dr. Paabo and a new kind of DNA sequencing machine developed by 454 Life Sciences.
Because the genome must be kept in constant repair and starts to break up immediately after the death of the cell, the DNA in Neanderthal bones exists in tiny fragments 100 or so units in length. As it happens, this is just the length that works best with the 454 machine, which is also able to decode vast amounts of DNA at low cost.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
nytimes smells another "minority" to exploit.
Make up some darn good bowlers!
should start with them and work backwards... 8^)
Ecch. I despise that commercial. I don't know what makes me scramble for the "mute" button faster -- those two Metroneanderthals or the Head On ad.
Thank You, I somehow knew it all along. I have the R2D2 7R allele coursing through me. It explains all my problems. D*mn, why did my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather have to have sex with that b*tch. When was alcohol discovered?
Alcohol, lol. I'm sure it was love.
Cloning Helen Thomas????
Covering every square inch of their bodies.
She just shows up everywhere. LOL.
look - an elf.
That's PDF!!!
create an army to-dare I say it- rule the world?
They were extinct by Cro-Magnon for Chissake, they won't rule anything but backhair contests, LOL.
make some neanderthals and sell them to sports teams that don't have enough of them already.
Hey, I resemble that remark.
Though I wear a shirt and tie
I'm still part Neanderthal deep inside
Neanderthal people Neanderthal tribe
So proud to live so proud to die
But maybe someday when they learn
Neanderthals will return, will return, will return, will return, will return
Oh you guys beat me to it. They will also be making more ads that you see nowadays with the two Neandies eating out at a posh restaurant. Lots of work for them to do for Howard Dean and Mike Moore. BTW, if they come to America, will they be illegal immigrants?
Just what we need....more Mad Scientists throwing ethics and morals to the wayside; doing things just because they can. Some of these guys truly are wishing to do vile things in the lab, and think you and I are simplistic morons because we don't worship at the alter of Total Knowledge.
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