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The ancestors of all modern humans split off from a mystery population 1.5 million years ago and then reconnected with them 300,000 years ago, a new genetic model suggests. The unknown population contributed 20% of our DNA and may have boosted humans' brain function...In a study published Tuesday (March 18) in the journal Nature Genetics, researchers presented a new method of modeling genomic data, called "cobraa," that has allowed them to trace the evolution of modern humans (Homo sapiens).By applying their new method to modern human DNA data published in the 1000 Genomes Project and the Human Genome Diversity Project,...

Scientists examining the genomes of West Africans have detected signs that a mysterious extinct human species interbred with our own species tens of thousands of years ago in Africa, the latest evidence of humankind's complicated genetic ancestry. The study indicated that present-day West Africans trace a substantial proportion, some 2% to 19%, of their genetic ancestry to an extinct human species – what the researchers called a "ghost population." "We estimate interbreeding occurred approximately 43,000 years ago, with large intervals of uncertainty," said University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) human genetics and computer science professor Sriram Sankararaman, who led the...

A gene from Denisovans makes people predisposed to mental health issues The gene was passed down to humans about 60,000 years ago in Asia Humans having sex with a now-extinct subspecies they met in Asia some 60,000 years ago could be the reason you have depression, a new study has claimed. Researchers discovered a gene variant linked to the crossbreeding of humans and Denisovans which they believe affects our mood. Those with the variant have lower levels of zinc in the body - a nutrient which studies increasingly show is associated with mood and happiness. Scientists said SLC30A9 is the...