Neanderthal reconstruction Photo: Stefan Scheer, Neanderthal Museum, Mettman, Germany

There were thousands of years that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens inhabited the same regions in Europe. How much did these groups intermingle?

One answer comes from looking at early human DNA… Does it contain any genetic traces of interbreeding with Neanderthals?

The answer, apparently is no. The scientists behind a recent study published in the journal Cell sequenced the mitochondrial DNA of a Neanderthal who lived 38,000 years ago.

While the scientists have been congratulated for the feat — it’s difficult to build a reliable sequence using ancient DNA — the results show no evidence of intermingling.

Get the full story here.

photo by Aaron Logan

In our quest to discover the “Human Spark,” we compare ourselves to the other primates — our closest living relatives — for glimpses of what it is that we have that they don’t.

Obviously there are some big differences — we humans are the ones running the experiments, and the apes are the ones on the other side of the glass. But we do share the vast majority of our DNA and many characteristics and abilities. Now the Spanish Parliament is considering what “human rights” our great ape cousins deserve under the law.

Read the full story at the New York Times.