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Svante Pääbo with a skeleton
Svante Pääbo Awarded Nobel for Paleogenomics
The geneticist’s accomplishments include sequencing Neanderthal DNA and leading the project that identified a new species of hominin, the Denisovans.
Svante Pääbo Awarded Nobel for Paleogenomics
Svante Pääbo Awarded Nobel for Paleogenomics

The geneticist’s accomplishments include sequencing Neanderthal DNA and leading the project that identified a new species of hominin, the Denisovans.

The geneticist’s accomplishments include sequencing Neanderthal DNA and leading the project that identified a new species of hominin, the Denisovans.

denisovan

Artist&rsquo;s rendition of multiple <em>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</em>, the bacteria that causes gonorrhea, depicted as two spheres stuck together, each covered in tendrils.
Gonorrhea-Blocking Mutation Also Protects Against Alzheimer’s: Study
Holly Barker, PhD | Aug 5, 2022 | 4 min read
Research traces the evolution of a gene variant that reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, finding that it originally evolved in response to infectious bacteria.
The fossil tooth found in the Annamite Mountains in Laos
Ancient Tooth Could Be Clue in Denisovan Migration Mystery
Andy Carstens | May 18, 2022 | 2 min read
The new fossil from Laos helps answer the question of how some people from Oceania carry DNA from the ancient hominin.
group of paleolithic people around a campfire
Gene Variant Points to Starvation’s Evolutionary Legacy
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Sep 28, 2021 | 4 min read
Ancient and modern genomes reveal that a variant of the human growth hormone receptor likely helped our ancestors survive when food was scarce.
Opening of Leang Panninge cave in Indonesia
7,200-Year-Old Skeleton Offers Clues to Early Human Migration
Catherine Offord | Aug 29, 2021 | 2 min read
Analysis of DNA from remains found in an Indonesian cave provides new insight into human movements among the islands between East Asia and Australia.
3 by 5 grid of black and white photos of indigenous Filipino portraits
Indigenous Filipino Group Has Highest Known Denisovan Ancestry
Annie Melchor | Aug 13, 2021 | 3 min read
Researchers found the relatively high proportion of DNA from a hominin cousin—nearly 5 percent—when they scanned more than 1,000 genomes from 118 distinct ethnic groups.
tibetan mastiff with ghostly wolves in the background
The Extinct Species Within
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Aug 6, 2021 | 10+ min read
The genomes of living animals are littered with DNA from long-gone relatives, providing a lens on evolution, past extinctions, and perhaps even solutions to agricultural problems.
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An artist's depiction of a new species of Homo, H. longi
“Dragon Man” May Replace Neanderthal as Our Closest Relative
Amanda Heidt | Jun 25, 2021 | 8 min read
A massive, well-preserved skull discovered in China in the 1930s belongs to a new species called Homo longi, researchers report, but experts remain skeptical about the evidence.
Gene-Edited Organoids Explore Neanderthal Brain Function
Jef Akst | Feb 12, 2021 | 3 min read
Using CRISPR to swap an archaic variant of the NOVA1 gene into human stem cells, researchers create organoids with neurodevelopmental differences from those carrying modern DNA.
Y Chromosome from Early Modern Humans Replaced Neanderthal Y
Jef Akst | Sep 24, 2020 | 5 min read
A selective advantage may have led the modern human Y chromosome to sweep through the Neanderthal population after it was introduced via interbreeding more than 100,000 years ago.
Genetics Steps In to Help Tell the Story of Human Origins
Katarina Zimmer | Sep 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
Africa’s sparse fossil record alone cannot reveal our species’ evolutionary history.
a readout showing genetic sequences
Remnants of Extinct Hominin Species Found in West African Genomes
Shawna Williams | Feb 13, 2020 | 2 min read
A study points to the existence of an ancient human relative that interbred with Homo sapiens.
a fossilized fragment of human jawbone
Denisovan Fossil Identified in Tibetan Cave
Shawna Williams | May 1, 2019 | 4 min read
A mandible dating to 160,000 years ago is the first evidence of Denisovan hominins outside the Russian cave where they were first discovered in 2010.
Tibetan Plateau tools
Humans Made Tools Atop the Tibetan Plateau More than 30,000 Years Ago
Shawna Williams | Mar 1, 2019 | 5 min read
A finding pushes back the timeline on humankind’s conquest of one of Earth’s harshest environments, and may provide clues about interactions with their hominin relatives.
Researchers Home in on When Different Hominins Shared Denisova Cave
Carolyn Wilke | Jan 30, 2019 | 2 min read
Denisovans and Neanderthals likely overlapped at this Stone Age hot spot for thousands of years, and modern Homo sapiens may have dwelled there, too.  
Girl Had a Denisovan Dad and Neanderthal Mom
Sukanya Charuchandra | Aug 22, 2018 | 2 min read
Genetic analysis of a bone fragment reveals the girl’s mixed ancestry 90,000 years ago. 
Human-Specific Genes Implicated in Brain Size
Abby Olena, PhD | May 31, 2018 | 5 min read
Three members of a gene family called NOTCH2NL may have been involved in the evolution of humans’ big cortex.
Homo Sapiens Interbred With Denisovans From Two Different Populations
Shawna Williams | Mar 16, 2018 | 2 min read
Researchers find that modern human populations carry distinct sets of genes from the extinct hominin species.
Advantages of Neanderthal DNA in the Human Genome
Anna Azvolinsky | Nov 10, 2016 | 3 min read
The retention of ancient hominin DNA in modern human genomes may have helped our ancestors adapt to life in diverse environments. 
Clock Reset on Denisovan-Neanderthal Split
Kerry Grens | Mar 14, 2016 | 1 min read
Nuclear DNA from 430,000-year-old specimens indicates that Neanderthals had already diverged from their ancient-human predecessors.
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