This month: Homo neanderthalensis
Stop trying to sound clever. Are we talking about Neanderthals?
Yes, that’s correct – the human species based across Europe and southwest and central Asia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago.
OK, tell me about Neanderthals.
They had large noses, strong double-arched brow ridges and relatively short and stocky bodies. They were about 1.50-1.75m tall, weighed 64-82kg and subsisted on diets of meat, plants and fungi; also shellfish (when available).
Very good. But why are we covering them here?
A new study states that genetic variants that leave their carrier more susceptible to severe COVID-19 are inherited from Neanderthals.
That is just one of many factors, though.
Yes, there are a range of factors that influence a person’s susceptibility to having a severe reaction, such as their age and the existence of other medical conditions. But genetics also plays a role.
OK, what exactly did this study uncover?
Over the last few months, research by the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative has shown that genetic variants in one region on chromosome 3 impose a larger risk that their carriers will develop a severe form of the disease.
Now, a new study that has been published in Nature has revealed that this genetic region is almost identical to that of a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal from southern Europe. Further analysis has shown that, through interbreeding, the variants came over to the ancestors of modern humans about 60,000 years ago.
What did the study involve?
The researchers looked at over 3000 people, including both those hospitalised with severe COVID-19 and those infected but not hospitalised. It identified a region on chromosome 3 that influences whether a person infected with the virus will become severely ill and needs to be hospitalised.
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