50,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Bones Unearthed in Brazil Contain Ancient Herpes Viruses

Ancient herpes was found in the remains of 50,000-year-old Neanderthal bones. Experts plan to bring the virus back to life and compare it to its modern-day counterparts.

Neanderthal Bones With Ancient Herpes Viruses

Researchers at Brazil's Federal University of São Paulo discovered traces of the herpesvirus in the DNA of two male Neanderthals found in a Russian cave. Previous ideas proposed that viruses may have caused the extinction of Neanderthals, and the new study may be the first to support this theory.

Marcelo Briones, the study's principal author, suggests that these Jurassic Park-like viruses might next be examined for their harmful and reproductive characteristics and contrasted with modern counterparts. However, given the incomplete knowledge of how the viruses' DNA is broken and how to assemble the recovered fragments into a complete viral genome, Briones doubts this could be accomplished. It's also important to consider the host-virus interaction, particularly in a totally different environment.

The scientists utilized the Neanderthals' fossils, which they discovered in the Chagyrskaya cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, to sequence the ancient creatures' genomes. The findings showed that neither contemporary humans handling the bones nor potential predators feeding Neanderthals could have carried the viral remains.

Adenoviruses can cause infections in the tonsils, adenoids, and other mucosal tissues and produce cold symptoms in modern humans. Meanwhile, sexually transmitted papillomaviruses can cause genital warts and cancer.

"Herpesviruses, in particular, might have been a major cause for Neanderthal extinction," the researchers wrote. However, more research is required to corroborate this theory.

"Taken together, our data indicate that these viruses might represent viruses that really infected Neanderthals," Briones added.

According to Briones, the results were expected given that the average person in today's world contracts roughly 10 diseases during their lifetime.

Modern Humans' Key Advantage Over Neanderthals

Experts believe that modern humans and Neanderthals crossed paths several times. However, unlike the former, the latter became extinct and did not survive. Another study suggested that modern humans had one key advantage over the Neanderthals—the size of their tribes.

People who live in nomadic bands of 10 to 60 people are known as the Hadzabe of Tanzania and the Khoisan of Namibia. The bands unite to form a loosely organized tribe of at least a thousand people.

These tribes are linked by marriages, kinships, friendships, and a shared language and religion despite the absence of official structures.

While Neanderthal cultures were similar to ours, there was one key distinction -- their smaller social groups are reflected in their lower levels of genetic variation.

Genes are readily lost in tiny populations. One death might eradicate the gene for curly hair if one in 10 people carries it. In a band of 50 people, five people would each have multiple backup copies of the gene. As a result, small populations gradually lose genetic diversity and accumulate fewer genes. This is another theory attempting to explain Neanderthals' extinction.

Check out more news and information on Neanderthals in Science Times.