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 ...
the cellular equivalent of “on”/”off” switches that determine whether DNA is activated or not.
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.
BWAHAHAHAHA! Good one!
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.
*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.
epi-ping
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.
There, fixed it for you. Words may be artificial constructs, but we use them to refer to real and measurable things.
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?
- 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?
Africans have no Neanderthal DNA, only European and Asians with Asians having a tad more than Europeans.
Then....there's the Denisovans:
More like the brown man
The different human races are closer to 100% genetically identical. We are all one species, the races idea is false, culture matters more
Better... stronger... faster.
Steve Austin will be that man.
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
- Jeremy Clarkson of “Top Gear” : “More powerful, faster…….”
- (and shredding the tires of his screaming Mercedes AMG in a few laps)
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