Scientists have taken a significant step towards unraveling the mystery of “What makes humans unique?”.
Fragments of DNA may hold the most crucial clues that differentiate modern humans from our ancestors. Researchers continue to seek answers to the question “What makes humans unique?”.
Recently, they have advanced further in solving this mystery with a new tool that allows for more accurate comparisons of the DNA of modern humans and our extinct ancestors.
Reconstructed Neanderthal skull (right) and modern human skull on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. (Photo: AP).
According to a study published in the journal Science Advances on July 16, it was found that we and other modern humans share only 7% of our genes, unlike our prehistoric ancestors.
A computational biologist from the University of California (USA) and co-author of the study stated, “That is a relatively small percentage. Findings like this are why scientists disagree with the notion that we are distinct from Neanderthals.”
The study relied on DNA samples taken from the fossils of Neanderthals and Denisovans, which have both become extinct, alongside DNA from 279 modern humans worldwide. Scientists have known that modern humans share some DNA with Neanderthals. However, different individuals share different parts of the gene pool. One of the goals of the new research is to identify genes that are exclusive to modern humans.
The research team developed a tool that can compute the lost data in ancient gene sequences, according to paleontologist John Hawks from the University of Wisconsin (USA). They also discovered a smaller portion of our gene pool—about 1.5%—that exists only in modern humans, and everyone living today possesses this genetic portion.
Co-author Richard Green from the University of California (USA) remarked, “These segments of the genome are extremely rich in genes related to neural development and brain function.”
In 2010, Green helped construct the first draft genome of the Neanderthal. Four years later, geneticist Joshua Akey noted that modern humans carry some DNA from Neanderthals. Since then, scientists have continued to refine techniques for extracting and analyzing genetic material from fossils.
“Better tools allow us to ask increasingly detailed questions about human history and evolution,” shared researcher Joshua Akey, who did not participate in the new study. “The findings suggest that we are indeed a very young species. Not long ago, we still shared the planet with other lineages of humanity.”
