2023-05-24 16:45:05
About the episode
You would think that modern humans – compared to our distant ancestors – are a lot better at staying healthy. Yet lately Neanderthals have been looked at precisely when it comes to our future health.
As in a survey from earlier this month, in which Harvard scientists not only managed to piece together the genomes of micro-organisms that are 100,000 years old which originated from Neanderthal dental plaque, but also managed to bring ancient molecules from that time to life in the lab. All in the hope that it can bring us new medicines, such as antibiotics.
Something similar was done last year by researchers from the US. She found bits of genetic code in Neanderthal DNA that made bacteria-killing proteins. They also copied it in the lab and even tested it in mice.
So while we may soon be able to thank our ancestors for new remedies against diseases and infections, it is a different story the other way around. It emerged earlier this year research by Erasmus MC that Neanderthals were not resistant to infections from Homo sapiens, with whom they shared a habitat for about 20,000 years. It would be a possible explanation for why the Neanderthals went extinct.
#ancient #Neanderthal #dental #plaque #medicines