Neanderthal Man unveils genome .

Mankind now has a few genes of his missing cousin.

There is now evidence that we have in us, the men called modern, something Neanderthal man. An international team (56 people) has managed to decrypt almost 60% of the genome of this "cousin" from bone samples dating back some 40,000 years found, some twenty years ago in a cave in Croatia. And it appears that 1 to 4% of our genome could come from Neanderthals.
Neanderthal, our closest relative of the evolutionary perspective. Appeared 450,000 years ago, he has peopled Eurasia (Europe and western Asia). Then he disappeared, there are 25,000 to 30,000 years when modern man, whom we call Cro-Magnon, began its expansion from Africa. Some analysis of mitochondrial DNA said had already been made. But today, it says on nuclear DNA, from the nucleus of cells, the tests have been conducted. As for the establishment of a DNA fingerprint.
The team led by Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig (Germany) has shown that Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens met and rubbed shoulders in the Middle East before the oldest disappears.
Is it important? "But then of course, enthusiastic Evelyne Heyer, professor of anthropology genetics at the National Museum of Natural History in a laboratory associated with CNRS. The question is where we come from, who we really are! "
The findings, published today in the journal Science, show firstly, for the first time, it is possible to analyze at least part of the DNA of the cell nucleus, dating back several tens of thousands decades, with infinite care and non-standard technology. "If someone had claimed ten years ago to do it, nobody would have believed, Evelyne Heyer continues. It is a work of genius, magic, what made Svante and his team. "

Caution:
They were then able to compare Neanderthal DNA sequences with those of five modern humans: a South African, an African, West Papuan, one Chinese and one French .... The comparisons show that the Neanderthal genome is closer to that of non-African modern.
They have also explored ways to trace the common ancestor of both lineages of hominids and prepared a catalog of the genetic characteristics present in modern humans, but not in those of Neanderthal or in the great apes.
They also tried to see what these different genomes could explain the birth of Homo sapiens. And they found that regions of DNA that showed the greatest variations, that is to say, those who permitted the "best" evolution, genes involved in cognitive development and mental, skull or cage Chest.
"Even if the first is great, tempers Evelyne Heyer, take the assumptions made by these researchers with caution. Some technical aspects such as the length of DNA fragments analyzed, in my opinion are a bit "light". Therefore, any conclusions about differences or similarities between Neanderthal and modern humans are not all equal. It will require further analysis of the same type are made, perhaps by other approaches, to really see clearly. "
Will it be possible one day to carry out such analysis on even earlier hominids such as Australopithecus? "Probably not, sorry Evelyne Heyer. Because from the moment all parties are fossilized organic analysis becomes impossible. "But those genetic analysis of Neanderthal should better know, describe it and make it" talk. "