Contrary to popular belief that high altitudes were inhabited only by modern humans less than 40,000 years ago, fossil remains conclusively prove that Denisovans lived there 160,000 years ago. Denisovans adapted to low-oxygen environment long before modern humans arrived on the plateau. Analysis of a fossil jawbone containing molars recovered from Baishiya Karst cave in … Continue reading Denisovans inhabited Tibetan Plateau 120,000 years before modern humans
Denisova hominin
Indian researchers find a new ancestor of modern humans
A study published a few days ago in the journal Nature Genetics has found the presence of a third and a new ancestor to humans — a sibling of the Neanderthal and the Denisovan. The study compared the complete DNA sequences of the Jarawas and the Onges living in the Andaman Islands in the Bay … Continue reading Indian researchers find a new ancestor of modern humans
Editorial: A new human species
Published in The Hindu on April 10, 2010 Nearly 10 years after the genome of a living individual was first sequenced, and shortly after the sequencing of the genome of a 4,000-year-old male Eskimo, scientists have successfully sequenced the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome of a nearly 40,000-year-old hominin. The study, published recently in Nature, was … Continue reading Editorial: A new human species
New species in human’s family tree found
Published in The Hindu on March 25, 2010 A team of scientists has successfully sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of a hominin who had lived in the Altai Mountain region of Siberia, Russia. This hominin had shared a common ancestor with anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals about 1 million years ago. Further investigation reveals that the … Continue reading New species in human’s family tree found