Title: Genetic admixture between Neanderthals in early modern humans Speaker: Melinda Yang, Host: ZHAI Weiwei Time: 10:00-11:30 AM, June 14th (Friday), 2013 Location: first-floor seminar hall, Beijing Institute of Genomics, CAS Abstract: The relationship between Neanderthals and humans has long been discussed in biology, paleoanthropology, and archaeology. Until the Green et al (2010) study, most studies suggested taht Neanderthals and early modern humans did not interbreed at all, but a slight genetic similarity between non-Africans and Neanderthals has been found, suggesting some interbreeding did occur. In this presentation, I discuss why an alternative proposal of ancient structure in the human lineage cannot explain the genetic similarity, leaving admixture as the most parsimonious option. Furthermore, I also explore differences in the level of genetic similarity between Neanderthals and several different human groups, using the Complete Genomics Diversity Panel and a population genetic approach.
Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley
