Marcelo Briones and his team found 50,000-year-old viral DNA in Neanderthal bones. This helps us understand how they might have died.
Neanderthals vanished around 40,000 years ago. Speculated theories include climate change, competition with humans, and diseases.
Studies found viral DNA in Neanderthal bones from Russia’s Chagyrskaya cave. They had viruses similar to those we have today.suggest that Neanderthals were susceptible to diseases that still affect humans today
Extracting and sequencing DNA from ancient remains is a challenging process due to the degradation of genetic material over time
Neanderthals and Homo sapiens interbred 50,000 years ago. This mixed DNA is still found in modern Eurasian people, contributing up to 2% of the DNA.
New methods like shotgun sequencing help study ancient DNA. These techniques reveal old diseases and human history, like Piltdown Man hoax and the migration patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa, reshaping our understanding of human development and the history of diseases.