00:00When you imagine the evolution of Homo sapien, it's easy to imagine something like this,
00:07where our great ape ancestors turned into upright versions, eventually becoming Neanderthals and
00:12then modern humans. However, our species was a spectrum for a long while, when Neanderthals
00:17and humans existing at the same time. However, new research suggests that not only did they
00:21exist together, but they did so for a long time, and they intermingled a lot, if you know what I
00:26mean. The researchers say that rather than a quick dying off of Neanderthals, where larger
00:31populations suddenly disappeared, they say that their numbers were much smaller than previously
00:35believed, with the researchers saying their numbers were likely 20% lower than previously thought,
00:40meaning Neanderthals were more likely interacting sexually with humans and mixing DNA. We have long
00:45known that the two groups intermingled, as we can still find traces of Neanderthal DNA in us today.
00:51This research highlights just how much the two groups mixed, with the DNA pool eventually flowing
00:56towards humans. However, their research found human DNA in Neanderthal remains as well,
01:01going back as far as 250,000 years ago.
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