Woo Hoo!!! Thank you Cambridge University for your study on the link between human DNA and Neanderthal DNA. I was a little shocked, appalled and astounded when researchers came out saying that it appears as though humans and Neanderthals did interbreed after all. Talk about AT LEAST two semesters worth of college lectures thrown out the window. But now it appears as though more pieces of the massive jigsaw puzzle are falling into place. Trending on MSN today is a small piece about how Cambridge University researchers believe that the DNA humans and Neanderthals share "probably resulted from an ancestor we had in common 500,000 years ago." Now I don't wanna just jump up and say "I TOLD YOU SO!!!" but its a pretty big no brainer. Here's what I think about this whole thing, based on pure common sense:
First off, it was very presumptuous of the researchers to come out and say "yes we interbred" without looking at the larger picture. I get that we probably share quite a few genetic markers that are very similar to Neanderthals.After all, we came from a common ancestor, the Homo Heidelbergensis. For whatever reason, we developed into the species that we are today and the Neanderthals developed into what they became. (The same also goes for the species Homo Erectus, who also came from the Homo Heidelbergensis split). Whether it was our brains, brawn's or sheer luck, we survived and thrived. But the same is also probably true of humans and other ape species.Lets also not forget the fact that DNA is extremely complex and as much as science would like to have it all figured out they don't. Even within our own species there is slight genetic variation. Granted, it doesn't lead to an entirely different species but it does make for some very interesting differences among humans.
I think that there are two lessons to be learned from this. First off, never jump the gun. Sure we share DNA with Neanderthals, but what does that really mean? Not long ago it was accepted knowledge that we shared 98% of our DNA with Chimps, but even that school of thought is changing. Secondly, this is a great time to point out that we don't and will probably never know everything there is to know about human evolution. There are just far too many gaps in the puzzle to figure out with little to no evidence to do so. However, it does make for some very interesting reading material so...play on science...play on.
Wanna read the article yourself? Here's the link...
http://now.msn.com/sex-between-humans-and-neanderthals-not-common-study-finds
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