Who are the Denisovans?
As a genetic fanatic, I think about this find with absolute amazement! In 2010 a new humanoid species was discovered! As of 2021 we only have a couple teeth, a jaw bone, and a single finger bone that was discovered in Siberia. With these few remains we were able to synthesize an almost a complete ancient DNA (aDNA) profile from remaining nuclear AND mitochondrial aDNA.
In 2019 the first portrait of what our recent relatives possibly looked like was made, and it is so beautifully haunting. (See image). By using forensic analysis of the aDNA and skeletal features artist and scientist Maayan Harel
This was further accomplished by the study of epigenetic DNA methylation . The methyl groups that we usually look at in consideration of epigenetic factors degrades after death, so cannot be spotted in aDNA.
“But a team co-led by Liran Carmel, a computational biologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discovered a way to identify parts of aDNA that had once been methylated, by analysing patterns of chemical damage that accrues to the DNA over time. Published in 2014, Carmel’s team mapped methylation patterns across the genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans, and identified a limb-development gene for which these patterns differed between the extinct groups and modern humans”(Gokhman 2019).
Why does this matter?
Everything we are and everything we will become lies in our DNA. Now obviously our DNA won’t determine our jobs, our friends, or our Netflix binge sessions but our children and our children’s children will carry pieces of today into a new tomorrow. Molecular genetics and genomics research has indicated early homosapians interbred with Neanderthals and Denosovians, populations we once new nothing about! Thus, in a symbolic and biological way these extinct humanoids are apart of us.
The growth in evolution is awe-inspiring and I like to think there is still so much more to discover. Possibly more groups of individuals lost to time we have yet to find. I imagine all what we could learn from these discoveries going forward in medicine, society, and even politics.
Do you think that people will find more similarities and humanity towards one another with aDNA and genomic mapping? I’d like to believe that aDNA and Genomics will give humanity a new look on what makes us human. We are all beautifully unique but have so much that links us together.
Lastly, would you say it is an ethical duty to study human evolution? I think based on beneficence, we should have as much knowledge as possible to make the best choices for patients and social decisions.
References:
1. Gokhman, D. et al. Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.08.035 (2019).
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