Gene test probes Neandertal origins
By Bruce Bower
A technique for discerning the similarity of DNA specimens supports earlier genetic evidence that Neandertals were a dead-end species, a new study finds.
Neandertal DNA exhibits substantial genetic differences from the DNA of both ancient Homo sapiens and modern humans, reports a team led by Lutz Bachmann of the Field Museum in Chicago.
“These data support the hypothesis that Neandertals were not ancestors of anatomically modern [humans],” the scientists assert in the June American Journal of Human Genetics.