WHO DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? –

Oct. 6, 2022 – An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Estonian University of Tartu, analyzed Neanderthal DNA associations, tracing a wide range of human habits and psychological patterns. They also examined more than a hundred variants of brain disorders from the U.K. Biobank, a repository of biological samples used for research. The aim was to narrow down the specific contribution of Neanderthal DNA to human behavioural features.

“Our results suggest that Neanderthals carried multiple variants that substantially increase the smoking risk in people today,” Michael Dannerman, associate professor of evolutionary genomics at the University of Tartu and the lead author of the study, said in a news release.

Stefan Gold, a professor of neuropsychiatry, who co-led the study, added that significant associations of Neanderthal DNA with alcohol and smoking habits might “help us to unravel the evolutionary origin of addictive and reward-seeking behaviour.”

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