The 2022 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo- for his discoveries regarding the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.
Using modern DNA technologies, Pääbo was able to sequence the Neanderthal genome and discovered traces of their DNA in present-day humans. He believes that a transfer of genetic material could have happened when the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens coexisted in Eurasia, following the migration out of Africa around 70,000 years ago.
The presence of such ancient genes in modern-day humans is not only important from an evolutionary perspective, but may also have physiological relevance. Pääbo believes that it may have impacted and influenced the survival strategies in Homo sapiens. For example, the survival of Tibetans at high altitudes and discrete immune responses to infections could be a result of this transfer of genetic material.
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