The two species came into contact around 30,000 years ago and produced hybrid offspring. One of the studies analyzed genetic variation in 850 non-African and 175 African people and compared them to the DNA of a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal. The results showed Neanderthal DNA present in humans today affects things like risks for certain diseases and keratin production.
Stronger keratin in Neanderthals was likely an adaptation to colder environments, because it is the main protein of hair, skin and nails. This trait would have been favored and selected for by the new population intermixing with the Neanderthals.
The study also showed that the genes most active in the male germ line and genes on the X chromosome were the areas with the least Neanderthal ancestry, which may be linked to hybrid infertility. Present-day human populations have been separated from one another for as long as 100,000 years yet are still fully reproductively compatible, but the ancient humans interbreeding with Neanderthals had been reproductively isolated for 500,000 years.
Article: http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/science-neanderthal-genes-modern-human-dna-01734.html
Stronger keratin in Neanderthals was likely an adaptation to colder environments, because it is the main protein of hair, skin and nails. This trait would have been favored and selected for by the new population intermixing with the Neanderthals.
The study also showed that the genes most active in the male germ line and genes on the X chromosome were the areas with the least Neanderthal ancestry, which may be linked to hybrid infertility. Present-day human populations have been separated from one another for as long as 100,000 years yet are still fully reproductively compatible, but the ancient humans interbreeding with Neanderthals had been reproductively isolated for 500,000 years.
Article: http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/science-neanderthal-genes-modern-human-dna-01734.html
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