Neandertal genes shed light on unique aspects of the modern human brain
(WorldNews Netherlands)

A characteristic feature of modern humans is the unusually round skull and brain, in contrast to the elongated shape seen in other human species. By studying Neandertal DNA fragments found in the genomes of living Europeans, scientists have now discovered genes that influence this globular shape. An interdisciplinary research team, led by the Max Planck Institutes for Psycholinguistics and Evolutionary Anthropology, brought together fossil skull data, brain imaging and genomics, as reported in Current Biology. Modern human skulls have a unique `globular` (round) shape. Our closest cousins, the long extinct Neandertals, had the elongated skulls that are typical of most primates. This striking...