DNA Analysis Probes the End of Human-Neanderthal Sex 160
An anonymous reader writes "Modern Europeans may have interbred with Neanderthals as recently as 37,000 years ago, after modern humans with advanced stone tools expanded out of Africa, according to a new study. In an attempt to understand why the Neanderthals are more closely related to people from outside of Africa, researchers from Harvard and the Max Planck Institute estimated that while the last sex between Neanderthals and modern humans may have occurred 37,000 to 86,000 years ago, it is most likely that it occurred 47,000 to 65,000 years ago."
reproduction != sex (Score:5, Insightful)
I do wonder what changed after the alleged period when occasional reproduction occurred.
Re:maybe this is why africans are so stupid (Score:1, Insightful)
No, this is the information that the Nazi race scientists had supressed for so long, that the Africans were actually the purer race.
Re:A Brief History of the World (Score:5, Insightful)
A really interesting Slashdot phenomenon is while attempting to be all scientificy and stuff and being strong advocates of Darwinian natural selection, don't seem to really grasp the implications of the concept. No species tries to maintain equilibrium. Equilibrium is forced upon them.
Re:A Brief History of the World (Score:2, Insightful)
An intelligent one could.
Let me know when one turns up.
Re:The last sex between Neanderthals and humans (Score:2, Insightful)
I am pretty sure that DNA wouldn't effect the looks as much regarding skin tone and possibly hair. It was most likely thousands of years spent in a specific environment that contributed to looks. It is possible to see drastic changes to a persons body in one lifetime so you can just imagine what would happen if generations settled in a specific area.
And how do you think population characteristics are passed between generations? magic?
Re:maybe this is why africans are so stupid (Score:2, Insightful)
the argument could be that mixed heritage offers the greatest chance for development.. 'purity' only leads to decay.
Correct.
I believe another word for 'purity' is 'inbreeding.'