Early Risers May Be Related to Neanderthals??

Veuer

A new study published in Genome Biology and Evolution found links between the DNA of ancient hominids called Neanderthals and Denisovans and modern humans who report being early risers. Veur’s Matt Hoffman has the details.

Transcript

00:00If you like to get up early, you might be part caveman.

00:03That's the gist of a new study published in Genome Biology and Evolution.

00:07The authors compared genomes of modern humans with those of ancient hominids called Neanderthals and Denisovans.

00:13They migrated away from African Homo sapiens 50,000 to 60,000 years ago and eventually went extinct,

00:19but not before interbreeding with humans and passing on some of their DNA.

00:22And according to the New York Times, the study's authors found that modern people

00:26who shared genetic material with Neanderthals and Denisovans also reported being early risers.

00:32This might be because those offshoots lived further north than early humans, where the days were shorter.

00:37Study co-author Tony Capra told CNN,

00:47More research would need to be done to fully explore this data's implications.

00:51But if you're up at the crack of dawn, you may have tens of thousands of years of evolution to thank.

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