Hacker News Reader

Comment by ljf | Hacker News Reader

According to 23andme I have just under 4% Neanderthal DNA - more than 99.9% of people in the world - I have always wondered what that actually means for me as a human.

I am relatively successful in that I have a job I can do, met a partner and married, and have children - so this DNA hasn't held me back in any way I can see - but does it set me apart in any ways? How many of the things that are specific to my experience of the world are shaped by this DNA?

View on HN

According to this pop-sci article : https://owlcation.com/stem/8-Neanderthal-Traits-in-Modern-Hu... :

    Hair Color and Type
    Immune System Benefits
    Sleeping Patterns
    Depression and Addiction
    Blood Clotting Issues
    Protein Malnutrition
    Eye Color
    Light and Dark Skin

What it means is different for each person that has inherited different traits but there are some interesting ones that have been identified: https://www.science.org/content/article/our-hidden-neanderta...

Edit: The method they use only allows them to discover negative things. Many of these same traits probably offer some advantages as well, but they only have quantitative data on disease.

It's fun to hear the suppositions behind your questions. I mean, we also say that modern humans have the same mental faculties as humans from 200,000 years ago. Neanderthals or homo sapiens, either way the science says we are no different than "cave men" (who probably did not predominantly live in caves). The whole concept of cave man - both neanderthal and sapiens such - is a sterotype, of course.

I think Neanderthal genes are especially common if you have heritage from between east asia to europe - you share this with a lot of people.

Neanderthals only died out around 40 000 years ago. If Neanderthals had survived today, they would likely not be considered a separate species - but merely the descendants of an earlier Out of Africa migration.

I am a part of the same group and have often wondered the same things. Are there any benefits or handicaps from this or is it just a fun spin on a microscopic difference in my genetics?

How many variants is that? I have 331 variants which is more than 99% of other customers but less than 2% of my DNA.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com