The major genetic risk factor for severe Covid-19 is inherited from Neanderthals(nature.com)
nature.com
The major genetic risk factor for severe Covid-19 is inherited from Neanderthals
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2818-3
11 comments
It is notable that the Neanderthal risk haplotype occurs at a frequency of 30% in south Asia whereas it is almost absent in east Asia - look at India and China on the map
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2818-3/figures/3 (?)
What about other coronaviruses ?
What about other coronaviruses ?
I knew it was the Neanderthals all along.
They’re still here you know.
They’re still here you know.
It's no joke! Take a DNA test and find out how much Neanderthal you've inherited.
23andMe says that I'm in the 80th percentile, with <2% Neanderthal DNA. Then it lists several silly traits that I may have inherited.
There is also a footnote about Denisovans, quasi-humans who also interbred, but on a very limited basis.
They're probably right. I mean, I have been known to draw on the walls of my apartment.
23andMe says that I'm in the 80th percentile, with <2% Neanderthal DNA. Then it lists several silly traits that I may have inherited.
There is also a footnote about Denisovans, quasi-humans who also interbred, but on a very limited basis.
They're probably right. I mean, I have been known to draw on the walls of my apartment.
As a layperson I find these Neanderthal DNA numbers to be rather confusing. I'm confident the following is wrong somehow, and I'd love to hear why:
I've read numerous times that the average European's DNA is ~2% Neanderthal, but I've also read that the difference between the human genome and the chimp genome is only 1-4%. So, that ~4% of DNA is 'human DNA', while the rest is basically hominid boilerplate. Neanderthals were presumably similar--~95% boilerplate hominid DNA and 5% 'Neanderthal DNA'.
So, if only 4% of my DNA is 'Human DNA', and 2% of that is 'Neanderthal DNA'... wouldn't that make me half human, half Neanderthal? (i.e. 96% boilerplate, 2% human, 2% Neanderthal). My assumption here is that the 5% 'human DNA' and the 5% 'Neanderthal DNA' overlap, and so any 'Neanderthal DNA' in my genome replaced 'human DNA' as opposed to boilerplate DNA, which might be wrong, but even with zero overlap, wouldn't that make me at least one third Neanderthal, two-thirds human? (i.e. 94% boilerplate, 4% human, 2% Neanderthal)
I've read numerous times that the average European's DNA is ~2% Neanderthal, but I've also read that the difference between the human genome and the chimp genome is only 1-4%. So, that ~4% of DNA is 'human DNA', while the rest is basically hominid boilerplate. Neanderthals were presumably similar--~95% boilerplate hominid DNA and 5% 'Neanderthal DNA'.
So, if only 4% of my DNA is 'Human DNA', and 2% of that is 'Neanderthal DNA'... wouldn't that make me half human, half Neanderthal? (i.e. 96% boilerplate, 2% human, 2% Neanderthal). My assumption here is that the 5% 'human DNA' and the 5% 'Neanderthal DNA' overlap, and so any 'Neanderthal DNA' in my genome replaced 'human DNA' as opposed to boilerplate DNA, which might be wrong, but even with zero overlap, wouldn't that make me at least one third Neanderthal, two-thirds human? (i.e. 94% boilerplate, 4% human, 2% Neanderthal)
NB: I'm not a scientist, so could be wrong.
The 2% here isn't the full thing, it's of the "highly variable genes." So if the "boilerplate" is 90% (for example) then the 2% mentioned is of that final 10%, or 0.2% of the total.
I used 90% as a simpler example, but the reality is the "boilerplate" between Neanderthals and modern humans here is closer to 98-99%, which puts that 2% at around 0.0004% to 0.0002% of the total genome.
The 2% here isn't the full thing, it's of the "highly variable genes." So if the "boilerplate" is 90% (for example) then the 2% mentioned is of that final 10%, or 0.2% of the total.
I used 90% as a simpler example, but the reality is the "boilerplate" between Neanderthals and modern humans here is closer to 98-99%, which puts that 2% at around 0.0004% to 0.0002% of the total genome.
I guess it's similar to the numbers you get for heritage; eg. you might genetically be 50% Caucasian and 50% Asian. This does not mean that Asians and Caucasians have completely different DNA
Yes, we are. Are you Afro/Chinese then (check the map) and it looks like you have someting against us?
[deleted]
[deleted]
Conversely, the protective effect of the HLA-A02:01, B18:01, DRB*03:01 three-loci extended haplotype in the Sardinian population was shown to efficiently contrast the high risk of a severe and devastating outcome of the infection predicted for carriers of the Neanderthal locus [OR 15.47 (95% CI 5.8 – 41.0), p < 0.0001].
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.8911...