Latest news with #Denisovan
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Cave of Denis, bounty of archaeological discovery
Michael Shunkov (front left) and Maxim Kozlikin (back right) — the main excavators at Denisova Cave, with Tom Higham in the centre and Katerina Douka back left. The first issue of the journal Nature was published on November 4, 1869, costing fourpence. It has since been the standard bearer of scientific research, reflected in such iconic papers as "A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid", published in 1953 — a paper that led to Crick and Watson's Nobel Prize for identifying the structure of DNA. This past week has seen another notable article published, in Nature Communications, that describes the discovery of a new human species that was only possible because of the surviving ancient DNA in a tiny human finger bone. The scene is Denisova cave in the remote Altai Mountains of Siberia. In the cave, once occupied by a monk called Denis, the cultural deposits go down metres in depth and thousands of years in time. Painstaking excavations by Russian archaeologists have traced the prehistoric occupation of the cave through the stone tools and fragments of bone — fragments because most had been crunched by hyaenas. The project was joined by international scientists, including my son Tom and his wife Katerina, both specialists in dating. In 2008, a tiny finger bone found its way to the Max Plank Institute, in Leipzig, for DNA analysis and it turned the evolution of the human past on its head, for it came from a unknown species that the excavation team named Denisovan. This has led to a hunt for more Denisovan bones, made the more significant by the fact that modern people from Tibet to New Guinea count Denisovans among their ancestors. There is a new analytical technique that can identify a bone fragment by extracting its collagen, and Tom and Katerina took bags of bone chips back to Oxford from Denisova Cave. After analysing more than 1000, their graduate student Samantha Brown struck gold: a fragment of human bone. Off to Leipzig it went, followed by a long and anxious wait for the DNA results to come through. The stunning result was a world first: the bone came from a young girl whose mother was a Neanderthal, and father a Denisovan, who lived about 90,000 years ago. Not only was this unique discovery the world's first known human hybrid, but it featured on the front cover of Nature. Since then, the search for more Denisovans has reached the highlands of Tibet and tropical Laos and the seas off Taiwan. It seems Denisovans and Neanderthals once had a common ancestor about 390,000 years ago and placing both in the jigsaw of human evolution is continuing apace. For the full story, read Tom Highams' The World Before Us: How Science is Revealing a New Story of Our Human Origins.
The Star
19-05-2025
- Science
- The Star
Global scientists develop South-East Asian population genome data
A group of international researchers has constructed a comprehensive South-East Asian population genome variation dataset, according to the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mainland South-East Asia (MSEA) has rich ethnic and cultural diversity with a population of nearly 300 million. However, people from MSEA are underrepresented in the current human genomic databases. The researchers from countries including China, Thailand and Cambodia have spent more than 10 years venturing deep into the rainforests of South-East Asian countries and collecting samples from South-East Asian populations covering five major language families in six countries. They successfully completed whole-genome deep sequencing of 3,023 samples. The international researchers have, for the first time, comprehensively mapped the genetic variation and genomic structure of South-East Asian populations, revealing how the genomic landscape of the region has been shaped by the combined effects of ancient population differentiation, admixture, adaptation, changes in population size and gene flow from archaic humans, according to their research article published in the journal Nature. Additionally, the study has revealed the genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic traits related to adaptation to tropical rainforests, such as skin color, body height and malaria resistance. This provides important evidence for understanding how natural selection has shaped modern human phenotypic diversity. The study has also detected multiple traces of Denisovan gene flow in South-East Asian indigenous populations. — Xinhua
The Star
18-05-2025
- Science
- The Star
Global scientists develop South-East Asian population genome dataset
SOUTH-EAST ASIA (Xinhua): A group of international researchers has constructed a comprehensive Southeast Asian population genome variation dataset, according to the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) has rich ethnic and cultural diversity with a population of nearly 300 million. However, people from MSEA are underrepresented in the current human genomic databases. The researchers from countries including China, Thailand and Cambodia spent more than 10 years venturing deep into the rainforests of South-East Asian countries and collecting samples from South-East Asian populations covering five major language families in six countries. They successfully completed whole-genome deep sequencing of 3,023 samples. The international researchers have, for the first time, comprehensively mapped the genetic variation and genomic structure of South-East Asian populations. The study is now also revealing how the genomic landscape of the region has been shaped by the combined effects of ancient population differentiation, admixture, adaptation, changes in population size and gene flow from archaic humans, according to their research article published in the journal Nature. Additionally, the study has revealed the genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic traits related to adaptation to tropical rainforests, such as skin color, body height and malaria resistance. This provides important evidence for understanding how natural selection has shaped modern human phenotypic diversity. The study has also detected multiple traces of Denisovan gene flow in South-East Asian indigenous populations, suggesting that this archaic human group may have been widely distributed across the vast region stretching from Siberia to South-East Asia, the KIZ said. This finding redefines the geographical boundaries of human prehistoric evolution. Phase II of the genome dataset has been initiated, according to the KIZ, which is dedicated to building a high-resolution genomic map covering the entire South-East Asian region. - Xinhua
The Irish Sun
06-05-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Jaw of lost human cousin that's NOT Neanderthal found at bottom of sea with teeth intact & may only be 10,000 years old
THE mystery of a robust ancient jawbone with large teeth and what species it belongs to has baffled scientists since it was dredged up in the 2000s. But in a new study, scientists say the bone may belong to one of the most elusive of human ancestors - Denisovans. Advertisement 4 The bone, known scientifically as Penghu 1, was netted by a fisherman off the coast of Taiwan Credit: Yousuke Kaifu 4 Denisovans are a long-extinct human relative who lived at the same time as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens Credit: Yousuke Kaifu Paleoanthropologists have long debated whether the bone came from a Homo erectus, an archaic The bone, known scientifically as Penghu 1, was netted by a fisherman from the floor of the Penghu Channel, about 15.5 miles off the west coast of Taiwan. A technique that analyses the amino acids and proteins in bones found that the individual it belonged to was male, and most similar to Denisovans. "The same technique can and is being used to study other hominin fossils to determine whether they too are Denisovans, Neanderthals or other hominin populations," study co-author Frido Welker, a molecular anthropologist at the University of Copenhagen, told Advertisement READ MORE ON ARCHAEOLOGY Denisovans are a long-extinct human relative who lived at the same time as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. The species roamed "It is now clear that two contrasting hominin groups – small-toothed Neanderthals with tall but gracile mandibles and large-toothed Denisovans with low but robust mandibles coexisted during the late Middle to early Late Pleistocene of Eurasia," the researchers wrote in the study published in Denisovan fossils remain elusive, so the entire species is shrouded in mystery. Advertisement Most read in Science Unlike Neanderthals, whose bones have been found throughout Europe and western Asia for more than a century, Denisovans are mostly known from DNA. Face of oldest direct human ancestor, which lived 3.8million years ago, revealed by scientists Only a handful of fossils have ever been found, most of which come from Denisova Cave in Siberia. Experts have struggled to identify new Denisovan skeletons without a large collection of fossils to compare to. Little is known, therefore, about where Denisovans lived and how they are related to humans. Advertisement Animal bones found alongside the Penghu 1 suggest it may also be the youngest fragment of a Denisovan ever discovered - trumping the current title holder by 30,000 years. Researchers were unable to use traditional methods such as carbon-14 or uranium dating on the bones because it was waterlogged for so long. DNA extraction attempts also failed. However, Welker explained that animal bones found with the jawbone suggest two age ranges - either 10,000 to 70,000 years ago or 130,000 to 190,000 years ago. Advertisement "If the specimen falls into the younger age range, it could potentially be the youngest Denisovan found to date," he said. Currently, the youngest Denisovan fossil, found on the Tibetan Plateau, is 40,000 years old. 4 A rough composite of a young girl who lived at Denisova Cave in Siberia in Russia 75,000 years ago Credit: MAAYAN HAREL 4 Denisovan fossils remain elusive, so the entire species is shrouded in mystery Credit: Cheng-Han Sun Advertisement
Scottish Sun
06-05-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Jaw of lost human cousin that's NOT Neanderthal found at bottom of sea with teeth intact & may only be 10,000 years old
Denisovan fossils remain elusive, so the entire species is shrouded in mystery LOST AT SEA Jaw of lost human cousin that's NOT Neanderthal found at bottom of sea with teeth intact & may only be 10,000 years old Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE mystery of a robust ancient jawbone with large teeth and what species it belongs to has baffled scientists since it was dredged up in the 2000s. But in a new study, scientists say the bone may belong to one of the most elusive of human ancestors - Denisovans. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The bone, known scientifically as Penghu 1, was netted by a fisherman off the coast of Taiwan Credit: Yousuke Kaifu 4 Denisovans are a long-extinct human relative who lived at the same time as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens Credit: Yousuke Kaifu Paleoanthropologists have long debated whether the bone came from a Homo erectus, an archaic Homo sapiens, or a Denisovan. The bone, known scientifically as Penghu 1, was netted by a fisherman from the floor of the Penghu Channel, about 15.5 miles off the west coast of Taiwan. A technique that analyses the amino acids and proteins in bones found that the individual it belonged to was male, and most similar to Denisovans. "The same technique can and is being used to study other hominin fossils to determine whether they too are Denisovans, Neanderthals or other hominin populations," study co-author Frido Welker, a molecular anthropologist at the University of Copenhagen, told Live Science. Denisovans are a long-extinct human relative who lived at the same time as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. The species roamed Asia, from the chilly corners of Siberia to humid areas like Taiwan, during the Pleistocene era - between 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. "It is now clear that two contrasting hominin groups – small-toothed Neanderthals with tall but gracile mandibles and large-toothed Denisovans with low but robust mandibles coexisted during the late Middle to early Late Pleistocene of Eurasia," the researchers wrote in the study published in Science. Denisovan fossils remain elusive, so the entire species is shrouded in mystery. Unlike Neanderthals, whose bones have been found throughout Europe and western Asia for more than a century, Denisovans are mostly known from DNA. Face of oldest direct human ancestor, which lived 3.8million years ago, revealed by scientists Only a handful of fossils have ever been found, most of which come from Denisova Cave in Siberia. Experts have struggled to identify new Denisovan skeletons without a large collection of fossils to compare to. Little is known, therefore, about where Denisovans lived and how they are related to humans. Animal bones found alongside the Penghu 1 suggest it may also be the youngest fragment of a Denisovan ever discovered - trumping the current title holder by 30,000 years. Researchers were unable to use traditional methods such as carbon-14 or uranium dating on the bones because it was waterlogged for so long. DNA extraction attempts also failed. However, Welker explained that animal bones found with the jawbone suggest two age ranges - either 10,000 to 70,000 years ago or 130,000 to 190,000 years ago. "If the specimen falls into the younger age range, it could potentially be the youngest Denisovan found to date," he said. Currently, the youngest Denisovan fossil, found on the Tibetan Plateau, is 40,000 years old. 4 A rough composite of a young girl who lived at Denisova Cave in Siberia in Russia 75,000 years ago Credit: MAAYAN HAREL
