# Neanderthal genes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-genes/119857>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 19, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-genes/119857 "2002-07-19T19:08:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-genes/119857/1 "2002-07-19T19:08:29Z")

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Studies say that modern humans didn’t interbreed with Neanderthal becaue N. genes aren’t present in our genetic material. How do they know what a Neanderthal gene looks like? Besides, I’ve seen guys on the subway that look…but I digress.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-genes/119857/2 "2002-07-19T20:51:17Z")

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They extracted the DNA from Neanderthal bones. [This article](http://www.2think.org/neanderthal.shtml) gives some details on recent work.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-genes/119857/3 "2002-07-19T20:57:27Z")

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Note that the analysis so far (AFAIK) has been exclusively on Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA (from outside the cell nucleus). There remains a small possibility that analysis of nuclear genes could show some relationship between Neanderthal and modern populations.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-genes/119857/4 "2002-07-19T22:07:56Z")

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Specifically, if Neanderthal men were mating with modern-type women, the decendents would show no trace of the Neanderthal’s mitochondrial DNA. Whether this was the case, I cannot say.