# Do more Neanderthal genes exist in living beings now than ever before in history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2023, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-neanderthal-genes-exist-in-living-beings-now-than-ever-before-in-history/983698 "2023-05-07T13:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-neanderthal-genes-exist-in-living-beings-now-than-ever-before-in-history/983698/1 "2023-05-07T13:17:08Z")
I was reading that Neanderthal genes make up close to 0.5 percent of the DNA of people with African ancestry and the number is closer to between 1.7 and 1.8 percent for people with European and Asian genomes. With 4.7 billion people living in Asia alone, Neanderthal genes must be more numerous now than ever before. I tried to look up Neanderthal demographics and someone estimated maybe 70,000 individuals at any one time. So have a I discovered a cool new fact for the random interesting fact thread? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-neanderthal-genes-exist-in-living-beings-now-than-ever-before-in-history/983698/2 "2023-05-07T14:03:09Z")
By what mechanism would Neanderthal genes leave the human genome? What selection pressure is being exerted? Eugenics? Are we practicing extreme rendition on prepubescent individuals who exhibit Neanderthal traits? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-neanderthal-genes-exist-in-living-beings-now-than-ever-before-in-history/983698/3 "2023-05-07T14:04:41Z")
Even ignoring the question of a mechanism or reason raised just above, we can still say a few things. If we assume the Neanderthal genes are neither being amplified nor shrinking over time within the collective human genome, then yes, as long as the human population keeps increasing, today is the day with the most living Neandertahl genes ever. To be replaced by tomorrow tomorrow and the next day on that next day etc. I do not know whether amplification or shrinkage is happening. But as long as humanity is growing at ~1% per year (a hair under that actually right now), then as long as Neanderthal genes aren’t being filtered / mutated out at a greater rate than that, it’s as I said above. More today than yesterday, and more tomorrow than today. Given the generation count between last living Neanderthal and today, If there was anything close to a 1% annual shrinkage in the Neanderthal representation in the human genome, it would long ago have shrunk to invisibility from even an implausibly hefty starting percentage. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-neanderthal-genes-exist-in-living-beings-now-than-ever-before-in-history/983698/4 "2023-05-07T14:06:52Z")
Obviously the number of _types_ of genes can’t go up because once a gene is lost it isn’t coming back, but if you mean the volume of Neanderthal DNA, like there’s _x_ gallons of it, I’d say yes. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-neanderthal-genes-exist-in-living-beings-now-than-ever-before-in-history/983698/5 "2023-05-08T00:27:27Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > So have a I discovered a cool new fact FWIW at _I_ think it is cool! > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Obviously the number of _types_ of genes can’t go up because once a gene is lost it isn’t coming back, but if you mean the volume of Neanderthal DNA, like there’s _x_ gallons of it, I’d say yes. I’m not absolutely sure about that obvious thing. Theoretically a gene can be duplicated, modified, and expressed for a different found function. If a new gene was “birthed” from a Neanderthal gene in such a way I think we’d still consider it as being of Neanderthal origin. Yes? ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-neanderthal-genes-exist-in-living-beings-now-than-ever-before-in-history/983698/6 "2023-05-08T17:33:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Given the generation count between last living Neanderthal and today, If there was anything close to a 1% annual shrinkage in the Neanderthal representation in the human genome, it would long ago have shrunk to invisibility from even an implausibly hefty starting percentage. It’s homeopathic genetics!