Pioneer Who First Sequenced, the Neanderthal Genome, Awarded Nobel Prize.
CNN reports that Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo is being awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for his groundbreaking work with ancient DNA.
CNN reports that Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo is being awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for his groundbreaking work with ancient DNA.
On October 3, the Nobel Committee said that Pääbo “accomplished something seemingly impossible” by sequencing the first Neanderthal genome.
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On October 3, the Nobel Committee said that Pääbo “accomplished something seemingly impossible” by sequencing the first Neanderthal genome.
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Pääbo pioneered methods to sequence ancient DNA from Neanderthal bones.
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His work was first made public in 2010.
As a result of his discovery, scientists have been able to compare Neanderthal genomes with the genetic records of modern humans.
Pääbo’s seminal research gave rise to an entirely new scientific discipline; paleogenomics, Nobel Prize committee, via CNN.
By revealing genetic differences that distinguish all living humans from extinct hominins, his discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human, Nobel Prize committee, via CNN.
Pääbo discovered that most modern humans share 1% to 4% of their DNA with Neanderthals.
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Thanks to his work, we now know that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens interbred before the Neanderthals went extinct around 40,000 years ago.
His major contribution is being a pioneer in recovering ancient DNA and that has been extremely important in the study of human evolution, Chris Stringer, Research lead in human evolution at, via CNN.
In his subsequent work, Pääbo discovered an entirely new kind of extinct human, called Denisovans.
