From Newsgroup: talk.origins

https://www.science.org/content/article/neanderthal-growth-gene-turns-modern-humans-muscle-heads

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(26)00890-0

Neanderthals were more robust and carried more muscle than modern humans
do. In a past thread I noted that it was only after the African modern
humans interbred with Neanderthal that Cro-Magnon evolved as a larger
brained (equal in volume to Neanderthal) and more robust skull and
skeleton evolved. Cro-Magnon was able to invade Southern Europe and
pushed Neanderthals out of the best European habitats. Before
Cro-Magnon the recent evidence suggests that modern humans first entered Northern Europe. This would have been marginal habitat during a period
of time approaching the glacial maximum. There was a period of time
when modern humans likely had to adapt to compete with Neanderthals for
prime habitat. Larger more robust Cro-Magnon was the answer.
Cro-Magnon did not last and was replace by modern human hunter gatherers
from Asia when the Ice age was ending.

These researchers have found a major gene accounting for a significant increase in muscle mass and skeletal structure. It is the Neanderthal
growth hormone receptor gene. This is the gene that if it is knocked
out in modern humans you get smaller bodies. It is a type of recessive dwarfism that is proportional, in that arm and leg length remain
proportional to the size of the torso and head. It is not the same as
short limbed dwarfism like achondroplastic dwarfs. So the gene isn't
required to make a human, but it is needed to produce a full sized
individual. The Neanderthal variant apparently increases the signal
output of the receptor and produces a more robust individual.

The researchers found that it was noticeably associated with increased
muscle mass and skull features associated with Neanderthals. My take is
that this is likely one of the Neanderthal genes that Cro-Magnon used to become more robust and increase their cranial capacity. If they are
able to sequence the genomes of the fossil Cro-Magnon they will be able
to check that out.

Ron Okimoto

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