A study based on 7,000 Americans has uncovered traces of interspecies marriages between the ancestors of Homo sapiens and an ancient, now-extinct lineage, belonging to the same genus but a different species.
The research, published on October 10 in the scientific journal Communications Biology, focused on three variants of the SCN9A gene and demonstrated that individuals with a high sensitivity to pain likely carry the blood of Neanderthals, who went extinct over 30,000 years ago.
A modern woman admires a wax figure of a Neanderthal man at a museum – (Photo: PA).
As known, the entire human population today belongs to a single species called “wise human” Homo sapiens, the “latecomer” of the Homo genus.
Neanderthals represent another species within the Homo genus, and fossil evidence alongside DNA findings suggests that interbreeding occurred between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens before their extinction, resulting in many “hybrid” individuals.
The search for hybrid descendants carrying Neanderthal or other extinct species’ blood is of significant medical importance. This is because these individuals perceived as “non-pure” may react differently to diseases and other external influences compared to 100% Homo sapiens individuals.
In the new study, the research team led by geneticist Pierre Faux from the National Institute for Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science in France demonstrated that individuals with any variant of the SCN9A gene are particularly sensitive compared to “pure” Homo sapiens.
This gene is responsible for coding a type of protein that allows sodium to enter cells and helps nerves detect pain signals. Individuals carrying “Neanderthal variants” experience pain more intensely, from sharp objects piercing the skin to sensitivity to heat and pressure…
The 7,000 participants in the study were Latin Americans, where the proportion of Indigenous Americans with Neanderthal blood was found to be more common.
Previously, several studies have shown that the interspecies blood of Neanderthals helps some Euro-Americans exhibit heightened or diminished responses to certain pathogens, including HIV and COVID-19.
One study even found that European women with Neanderthal blood enjoy the invaluable gift of easier childbirth with fewer complications.
