
Deep in Human DNA, a Gift from the Neanderthals - dnetesn
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/science/neanderthal-genes-viruses.html
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Nursie
Is it strictly correct to say Neanderthals became extinct if we carry some of
their DNA? Or should we think of them as one of a few (sub?) species that fed
into the origins of modern humans?

It seems odd to think of "them" and "us" as entirely different.

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qubax
> Is it strictly correct to say Neanderthals became extinct if we carry some
> of their DNA?

Yes. Neanderthals as a population don't exist anymore.

The house cat and tiger shares 95% of the same genes. If tigers disappeared,
you wouldn't consider it an extinction because we have house cats around?

[https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0918/House-cats-
and-t...](https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0918/House-cats-and-tigers-
share-95.6-percent-of-DNA-study-reveals)

Also, the common ancestors of humans and the common ancestors of cats became
extinct a long time ago. Are you saying those "creatures" aren't extinct
because humans and cats are around?

Edit: An additional example for those interested. Birds today share same genes
as tyrannosaur rex.

[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dinosaurs-
shr...](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dinosaurs-shrank-and-
became-birds/)

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pete_b
> Birds today share same genes as tyrannosaur rex

Really? Surely this claim would require the sequencing of the T-Rex genome,
which I'm guessing is an impossibility.

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wetpaws
Strictly speaking, all liveforms on the planet share same genes because they
descended from a common ancestor. You probably have 50% of common genes with
plants and quite a few with microorganisms.

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noselasd
it sounds like quite a stretch to say everything shares the same genes. A lot
of the genes have come into existence long after distant species split apart,
and other genes have disappeared from one specie while continuing in others.

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username3
Neanderthals are an offshoot, not an ancestor.

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masonic
Homo sapiens and Neanderthals are both offshoots from a common ancestor.

