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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsInbreeding may have helped cause Neanderthals to go extinct, study says
CNNNeanderthals went extinct around 40,000 years ago -- about the same time that modern humans migrated out of Africa. This has led researchers to believe that modern humans won the competition for resources, leading to the demise of Neanderthals.
Other theories around the environmental pressure of climate change or even epidemics maintain those reasons could have helped Neanderthals to go extinct.
But a new study proposes that modern humans had nothing to do with it. Instead, the researchers suggest that inbreeding, small populations and fluctuations in birth, death and sex ratio would have been enough to lead the Neanderthals to their permanent end. The study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS.
Previous research suggested that Neanderthals had small populations before modern humans made their appearance. Neanderthals were also spread out in isolated, local areas.
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Inbreeding may have helped cause Neanderthals to go extinct, study says (Original Post)
brooklynite
Nov 2019
OP
I'm going to make guess here and say "fluctuations in birth, death and sex ratio" may be culprit.
Midnight Writer
Nov 2019
#7
All modern/present day non-african humans carry from 2% to 5% Neanderthal DNA.
abqtommy
Nov 2019
#10
Turbineguy
(37,412 posts)1. So there hope
that trump supporters will eventually disappear.
Miigwech
(3,741 posts)2. Oh no, Neanderthals get a bad rap
maybe if they bred more with early humans we might be a more gentler race of humans
IphengeniaBlumgarten
(328 posts)3. Do not malign us.
I am about 4% Neanderthal/Denisovan (high for an otherwise generic European) and despise Trump.
MyOwnPeace
(16,951 posts)5. You go, Turbineguy!
I was trying to find some way to say that, but, damn, you nailed it!
Ferrets are Cool
(21,116 posts)4. Damn, why did that not happen with the decendants of Cain and Able.
Kinda.
Sneederbunk
(14,319 posts)6. How does this explain the existence of my college roommate?
Midnight Writer
(21,845 posts)7. I'm going to make guess here and say "fluctuations in birth, death and sex ratio" may be culprit.
"Inbreeding May Have Helped" is a surefire attention grabbing headline, though.
Demonaut
(8,937 posts)8. what a terrible headline, it's written so poorly
texasfiddler
(1,993 posts)9. At the very least, this proves the Huckabees are threatened
abqtommy
(14,118 posts)10. All modern/present day non-african humans carry from 2% to 5% Neanderthal DNA.
They didn't go extinct; they are us! Somebody at CNN should have done a little research!
https://www.livescience.com/28036-neanderthals-facts-about-our-extinct-human-relatives.html
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Neanderthal/Neanderthal-culture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal#Research_history
Maru Kitteh
(28,345 posts)11. mmmm hmmm . . .