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...brand-new species. Instead of giving it a Latin name, they refer to the creature publicly as "the Denisova hominin" and in internal e-mails and discussions simply as "X." But privately, scientists at Max Planck - a world leader in the painstaking process of separating genomes from other DNA (of viruses and bacteria, for instance) that typically contaminate fossils - believe that the sequencing of the Denisova hominin's nuclear genome, which will offer a complete genetic picture, will confirm a new species. Krause says the sequencing has begun, and will be complete within a few months...
Wednesday's results come from an analysis of the creature's so-called mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited only from the mother, and therefore does not give as complete a picture as nuclear genome sequencing. "In terms of mitochondrial DNA alone, this hominin was twice as distant from us as Neanderthals," says Krause. "The evidence is already very strong that we are looking at a previously unknown hominin, and possibly a new species." (See the top 10 scientific discoveries...
...various hominin species left Africa in a series of distinct migrations, beginning with Homo erectus or a close relative a little under 2 million years ago, followed by the lineage that gave rise to Neanderthals, and finally the ancestors of modern humans about 50,000 years ago. The mitochondrial DNA of the Denisova hominin suggests its ancestors left Africa around 1 million years ago, at a time not previously associated with migration. (See "CSI Stone Age: Did Humans Kill Neanderthals...
...says that because the Denisova hominin is assumed to be human, it's possible that there are many other unknown hominin fossils waiting to be discovered. He says paleontologists will continue to scour for remnants in Siberia and other northern regions, where cold weather helps preserve ancient DNA. Most early hominin fossils are from equatorial and tropical regions, where conditions for DNA survival are poor (indeed, although fossil records suggest a distinct hominin species, Homo floresiensis, co-existed with humans in Indonesia, genetic confirmation has proved elusive). (See the top 10 animal stories...
...have an employer who provides it. Another injustice: insurance companies determine who receives coverage and can deny it at will. For Democrats, this represented a gaping hole in the social safety net. Arguments about the details were inevitable, but a yes vote was embedded deep in the party's DNA...