Most of the DNA sequenced from the Neanderthal genome projects came from the microbes that decomposed the dead fella'. This poses a problem for the human geneticists who are only interested in the Neanderthal DNA. But you could probably do some interesting things with the non-Neanderthal DNA. John Hawks says:
I suppose if you were interested in the long-term microbial decomposition of fossil bone, you could do your dissertation on those. For the rest of us, the final step is to let the computer spit out the humanlike sequences, which are assumed to be the Neandertal DNA plus some proportion of human contamination.
Do these sequences fall under the Bermuda agreement? If so, I agree with John -- this could be an awesome project!
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Even extinction and the passing of millennia are no barriers to clever geneticists. In the past few years, scientists have managed to sequence the complete genome of a prehistoric human and produced "first drafts" of the mammoth and Neanderthal genomes. More controversially, some groups have even…
Well, some of you! And maybe me!
Last year, scientists combed through Neanderthal and Denisovian DNA sequences (yeah, those exist!) and found fourteen ERVs that were in Neanderthals and/or Denisovians, but NOT humans.
Neandertal and Denisovan retroviruses
SUMMARY:
Modern humans (Homo sapiens) last…
Meet "Inuk". He is the ninth human to have their entire genome sequenced but unlike the previous eight, he has been dead for some 4,000 years old. Even so, DNA samples from a tuft of his frozen hair have revealed much about his appearance and his ancestry.
Inuk had brown eyes and brown skin. His…
You don't have to tell me, I know I'm late to the party: the news about the draft Neandertal genome sequence was announced last week, and here I am getting around to it just now. In my defense, I did hastily rewrite one of my presentation to include a long section on the new genome information, so…