A 6-year-old Neanderthal child had Down syndrome, a new analysis of an oddly shaped ear bone found in a cave in Spain suggests. The finding is the first known case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals, our closest human relatives that lived in Eurasia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. The fact that the child, […]
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. A fossilized ear bone unearthed in a cave in Spain has revealed a Neanderthal child who lived with Down syndrome until the age of 6, according to a new study. The find suggested that members of […]
Neanderthal genes seen in modern humans may have entered our DNA through an interval of interbreeding starting about 47,000 years ago that lasted nearly 7,000 years, new research finds. Neanderthals were among the closest extinct relatives of modern humans (Homo sapiens), with the ancestors of both lineages diverging about 500,000 years ago. More than a […]
Modern humans have a small amount of Neanderthal DNA, and those genes still impact our health today. Scientists think they’ve figured out when the two groups started interbreeding and swapping DNA. The results can help scientists understand how Neanderthal genes evolved in humans over millennia. We might consider Neanderthals to be ancient and unknowable relatives, […]