Journal: Presence of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA in Humans

Journal: Presence of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA in Humans

Introduction

The origin of humans has been surrounded by different perceptions of whether there is a similarity in DNA with Neanderthal besides Denisovan. Though most of the DNA analysis is false, more researchers continue to investigate the relationship in the DNAs of humans and how it is related to the animals. Many articles have been written in recent years to support and, at the same time, differ with the hypothesis, which brings forward a productive discussion on what the truth may be and what supporting evidence is in existence. This journal aimed at venturing into the journals from different authors to discuss their perspectives to come up with a clear and productive discussion to contribute to the debate regarding the relationship between human DNA and that of Neanderthal as well as Denisovan.

Siberia fossils

In the past few years, researchers discovered human fossils in Siberia called Denisovan, which believed to be cousins to the Neanderthals. The humans were thought to have lived four hundred years ago and interbred to share their DNA with the new Guinea inhabitants (Zimmer, 2010). The fossils included broken finger-bones as well as teeth, which was located in a cave within Siberia. From these fossils, New Guinea inhabitants shared a 4.8% Denisovan genome within their DNA. Prüfer et al. (2014) offer a very high-quality genome sequence from a Neanderthal woman who came from Siberia. The journal goes ahead to give evidence that parents to the woman mated with closely related and half-siblings. The human DNA with more than 25% similarity with Neanderthal is depreciating since the discovery of the Caucasus (Prüfer et al. 2014). Further analysis of the shows from the high-quality research shows that the genome transformed into a solid-state in the humans even after their separation with the Neanderthals ancestors as well as Denisovan..

In another research to establish whether people from Europe Russia as well as east also contained Neanderthal DNA, Dr. Paabo together with his workmates analyzed a genome dating thirty thousand years back of the fossils from the region which indicated that the descendants who lived six hundred years ago had a similar ancestor (Zimmer, 2010).

What does it mean to have Neanderthals DNA?

Testing firms have carried out research and tests with the target of identifying the amount of DNA an individual carries as a result of inheritance from prehistoric humans who includes the Neanderthals and the Denisovan. Their research went further to test the percentage of DNA that people inherited from their ancestors (Lavenda & Schultz, 2013). All tests showed that African had zero if not closer to zero sample genomes. However, populations from Europe as well as Asia possessed either 1 or 2 percent DNA similar to the Neanderthal. Melanesian people maintained a more significant percentage of about 4-6 DNA from the Denisovan with South Asians as well as Pacific Islanders having a lower testable Denisovan DNA globally (Lavenda & Schultz, 2013).

Neanderthal is the most ancient humans who lived in parts of Europe besides West Asian regions in about 400 000 years in the past before their extinction in approximately 40 000 years. Denisovans are ancient people who lived at the same time in the parts of Asia but far from Neanderthals (Lavenda & Schultz, 2013).

Stringer (2012) assets that Neanderthals contribute to a tune of 1-4% of human genomes about the Non-African current Human Although this generation lived in the past forty thousand years, the tests show a 6-9 percent of the DNA comes from the Neanderthal. This journal, through the DNA evidence, puts more weight on the interbreeding and hypothesis of human DNA similarity with the ancient Neanderthals. The findings from the research indicate that no evidence can be used to prove the hypothesis that human DNA relationship with Neanderthal was not through interbreeding (Stringer, 2012). Though Neanderthal DNA is slowly retrieved from African countries, there is no DNA similarity, which indicates that African people possess DNA genomes. Thus based on the fact that Neanderthal evolved and did not live in Africa but in Eurasia, where they bred contrary to people living in Africa (Stringer, 2012). Through this article, Stringer (2012) asserts that human-Neanderthal crossbreeding was only present in the human genome. However, this is no longer the case due to the 2016 rapid types of research which were published giving a fresh collection of Neanderthal DNA sequences that came from the Siberian cave and parts of Croatia as well as Spain indicating the existence of of human-Neanderthal interbreeding dating back to one hundred year back. These findings were the very first to report the gene-flow in Neanderthal-genomes, which is contrary to Neanderthal DNA towards humans. The evidence from the publications strongly supported the fact that humans interbred with Neanderthal and also moved from Africa before the surviving populations, thus giving to contemporary present African humans (Stringer, 2012).

In an article Origin of our Species, studies show that today’s Homo sapiens have common skeletal characteristics seen in the fossils that remain many years back (Stringer, & Galway-Witham, 2017). As seen from most visible physical features, for instance, the human skull with the smaller face surrounding it. The study agrees that though many articles cover the origin of humans in regards to DNA and fossils, there is still a lot to be done to support the investigations. Stringer & Galway-Witham (2017) argues that home sapiens fossils that were excavated from parts of Africa, specifically Morocco, indicate that people with the same anatomy who lived in Africa had shared the same DNA as those of present people. Based on this evidence, it can be argued that Home sapiens who lived in African is of the same lineage as that of the current people even though the skeletal features shows primitive characteristics as compared to today’s human features. Though the evidence had been challenging to find, the latest discovery at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, which is in the African part of the continent, provides more supporting evidence for the similarity in Neanderthal-human DNA similarities. The structures found on the skeletal fossils offer a more profound indication of the evolution of the early people with more signs seen through the skulls. From the child’s teeth jaws discovered in 1968, it was evidenced that the pattern and teeth arrangements represented today’s child teeth pattern (Stringer & Galway-Witham, 2017).

Sharing of human DNA with Neanderthal as well as Denisovan is a phenomenon worth investigating. Through various authors, discussions have hinted at different things. According to Zimmer (2010), the DNA collected from the fossils found in Siberia indicated that Neanderthals, who lived forty thousand years back, shared their DNA with humans. The evidence is seen through the finger bones, which were tested for the human DNA for the present-day people. Other studies from Lavenda & Schultz, 2013, Stringer, & Galway-Witham, (2017) and Stringer, 2014) all point to the same phenomena. The authors highly support the argument that human DNA shared with both Neanderthals and Denisovan. Studies also evidence this that the sharing of DNA is not only due to the existence of the ancient people but due to their common interbreeding. The fact that African people lack the Neanderthal DNA is based on the fact that though the older adults lived in Africa, they moved to parts of Asia and Europe and evolved as well as hybridized to thus sharing their DNA genomes. The perspective that Human originated from Neanderthals as well as Denisovan as seen through the various scholars. Enough evidence not only from the past articles but from tests from some of the items provides enough detailed evidence in support of the same.

Conclusion

Human-Neanderthal DNA sharing has become a hot topic of discussion. The opposers of the perspective argue that there is little evidence to support the phenomenon. However, through the evaluation of the articles through this journal, it is evident that humans share their DNA with Neanderthals. As argued by various authors, the existence of ancient humans in Africa and parts of Europe and Asia, which resulted in the discovery of fossils, provide a quality opportunity for testing. The researchers also offer their insights to the topic under discussion using quality evidence to support their perspectives. Based on the support from the articles, it can strongly be argued that humans share their DNA with Neanderthals as well as Denisovan.

References

Lavenda, R. H., & Schultz, E. A. (2013). Anthropology: What does it mean to be human? (p.      576).    Oxford University Press.

Prüfer, K., Racimo, F., Patterson, N., Jay, F., Sankararaman, S., Sawyer, S., … & Li, H. (2014). The complete genome sequence of a Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains. Nature, 505(7481), 43-    49.

Stringer, C. (2012). What makes a modern human. Nature, 485(7396), 33-35.

Stringer, C., & Galway-Witham, J. (2017). Palaeoanthropology: On the origin of our          species. Nature, 546(7657), 212-214.

Zimmer, C. (2010). Siberian fossils were neanderthals’ eastern cousins, DNA reveals. New         York     Times, 23.