Ancient DNA reveals that some Neanderthals were redheads

www.physorg.com ^ | 10/25/2007 | Harvard University

[Kenny Bunk]

That Richardson got New Mexicans to vote him into the governorship is surprising

What is surprising that all of those in NM that DID NOT vote for Richardson, voted for him. LBJ's "86 Dead Mexicans" have increased and multiplied exponentially throughout the Southwest .... O beg pardon .... Aztlán.

However, I find Bill Richardson somewhat interesting. I would love to know what he and Monca Lewinsky talked about.

[mathurine]

Spot on! Jimmy Carter’s one of them.

[wagglebee]

Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun

[docbnj]

This might be very interesting. Red hair and light skin go together. The adaptation appears to be related to life at high latitudes, such as Europe. It allows the skin more effectively to synthesize Vitamin D, particularly if much of the body is covered with clothing because of the cold.

I suspect that Neanderthals and modern humans were able to interbreed, but there is no longer any way to test this hypothesis by the usual means. If the two groups could not interbreed, and the Neanderthals and modern humans independently developed light skin for life in foggy, cold, northern latitudes, this would be a case of parallel evolution.

Of course, if you still think that the Earth and the whole Universe were formed in 4,004 BC, you will have trouble making sense out of all this.

Not all cave men were Neanderthals. The men who painted the fine pictures on the walls of the caves in southern France and northern Spain were Cro Magnon, which is a racial type of modern men. There is good evidence that they have left modern descendants.

The Neanderthals, on the other hand, were heavier-boned than modern humans, and had skull characteristics which would be very distinctive. They probably were muscular enough to be able to make short work of even our most grisly looking, steroid-enhanced pro-wrestlers. So why did the Neanderthals die out?

Perhaps global warming got them! ;-)

[Red Badger]

I don’t think they did die out. They were absorbed within the rest of the human race. Every now and then, a throwback pops up. They are still here..............

[blam]

"I don’t think they did die out. They were absorbed within the rest of the human race. Every now and then, a throwback pops up. They are still here.............."

Good for you.

[Red Badger]

Playing mostly for the NFL............

[luvie]

Survival of the fittest....and that’s us! :D

[ZULU]

Dummy and the Beast

[TASMANIANRED]

Yee ha...

I knew my need to go primitive from time to time had to be genetic.

[TASMANIANRED]

You went for a red head a second time?

You must have it bad.

[blam]

BBC Version:

Neanderthals 'were flame-haired'

[johnny7]

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“You must have it bad.”
Current flame is Chinese. I think I’ve got the redhead problem licke,,,er, solved.

[VRWCmember]

Blondes: So easy a caveman could do them!

[VRWCmember]

Current flame is Chinese.

Yeah, but 20 minutes later are you h*rny again?

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Works for me!

[patton]

LOLOLOL!

[blam]

National Geographic Society version"

Some Neandertals Were Pale Redheads, DNA Suggests

[ApplegateRanch]

To ensure that the MC1R point mutation was not due to contamination from modern humans, the scientists checked some 3,700 people, including those previously sequenced for the gene as well as everyone involved in the excavation and genetic analysis of the two Neanderthals. None showed the mutation, suggesting that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens followed different evolutionary paths to the same redheaded appearance.

Did they check The Librarian at Unseen Universty?