Neanderthal remains from the Altai Mountains contain human viruses, a team of researchers has found, suggesting that infectious diseases may have been transmitted between anatomically modern humans and our closest (extinct) cousins.
A sweeping analysis of European and Asian genomes over the last 40,000 years reveals when and how some genetic exchange occurred between Homo sapiens and our closest cousins, Homo neanderthalensis. It also shows how the Neanderthals’ genetic footprint depended on later exchanges between members of our own species.