- Researchers from University College London claim Neanderthal DNA has influenced the shape of human noses.
- The lingering DNA comes from humans interbreeding with Neanderthals, according to a research study.
- Natural selection may have favored the Neanderthal-influenced face shape, study says.
Being compared to a Neanderthal would have once been considered a good thing, at least according to a theory from a group of University College London researchers.
In a new study published in Communications Biology, the authors claim that human face shapes, specifically the nose, come derived from Neanderthal DNA. That DNA, they say, became a part of the human makeup thanks to interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals.
“In the last 15 years, since the Neanderthal genome has been sequenced, we have been able to learn that our own ancestors apparently interbred with Neanderthals, leaving us with little bits of their DNA,” Kaustubh Adhikari, UCL researcher and co-author of the study, said in a news release. “We find that some DNA inherited from Neanderthals influenced the shape of our faces. This could have been helpful to our ancestors, as it has been passed down for thousands of generations.”
In 2021, this same team found that humans inherited a gene from the ancient Denisovans that influenced lip shape.
The new study located a gene that contributes to a taller nose from the top to the bottom, potentially carried on through generations as part of natural selection as humans adapted to colder climates.
By comparing 6,000 faces of volunteers from a variety of ancestral backgrounds, researchers identified 33 new genome regions tied to face shape. The ATF3 genome—found across multiple ancestry cohorts and especially prominent in those of Native American and Asian decent—came from Neanderthals and increased the nasal height of the person with the gene.
By branching out beyond the genes of Europeans, co-author Andres Ruiz-Linares of Fudan University and UCL says they were able to broaden the reach of genetic study to determine the Neanderthal connection.
“It has long been speculated that the shape of our noses is determined by natural selection,” Qing Li, an author of the study from Fudan University, says in a news release. “As our noses can help us to regulate the temperature and humidity of the air we breathe in, different shaped noses may be better suited to different climates that our ancestors lived in.”
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
