| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Tech |
| Neanderthal Genome May Be Reconstructed |
| 2005-07-06 |
| FRANKFURT, Germany - German and U.S. scientists have launched a project to reconstruct the Neanderthal genome, the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology said Wednesday. The project, which involves isolating genetic fragments from fossils of the prehistoric beings who originally inhabited Europe, is being carried out at the Leipzig-based institute. "The project is very new and is just at its beginning," said Sandra Jacob, a spokeswoman for the institute. U.S. geneticist Edward Rubin, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., is also participating in the project. In an interview with the German weekly Die Zeit, Rubin said the research would amount to more than just a spectacular display of science. "Firstly, we will learn a lot about the Neanderthals. Secondly, we will learn a lot about the uniqueness of human beings. And thirdly, it's simply cool," Rubin said. Heh, Rubin is my kind of scientist. It is cool, run with it man! Neanderthals were replaced by modern humans in Europe only between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago. |
| Posted by:mmurray821 |
| #8 I liked Kreb. Let's bring him back first. I think I saw Ayla in Showgirls. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-07-06 23:30 |
| #7 Hehe! Whoot! I know Eddie Rubin. I (occasionally) watch his buildings at the Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, CA (though he spends most of his time at meetings elsewhere). This is somewhat hyperbole/somewhat fact. They managed to sequence some Cave Bear DNA and they think that might allow them, eventually, to sequence some Neanderthal DNA. It won't let us clone them currently, however, so nobody get your hopes up about a Neanderthal Jurassic Park. Ain't gonna' happen. |
| Posted by: LC FOTSGreg 2005-07-06 23:11 |
| #6 I would pay good money to see that. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-07-06 19:55 |
| #5 Time for me to graduate to stronger bifocals? I read theheadline as "Neanderthal Gnome." |
| Posted by: mom 2005-07-06 19:45 |
| #4 Hope for the NHL. |
| Posted by: Shiipman 2005-07-06 16:49 |
| #3 Aha! If we thought illegal imigrants worked meanial jobs for cheap! Wait till they clone a bunch of these guys |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-07-06 16:16 |
| #2 ...the prehistoric beings who originally inhabited Europe... Oh, you mean humans! Asshats. |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-07-06 14:46 |
| #1 I'm betting they will find much in common between the Neanderthal and the Chirac brain genes. |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-07-06 13:23 |