Autism Could Be the Result of Inbreeding Between Neanderthals and Humans [Study]

Autism, also called autism spectrum disorder (ASD), could be due to inbreeding between Neanderthals and humans.

Autism Due To Human-Neanderthals Inbreeding?

In a new study, Clemson and Loyola University researchers used exome sequencing—a genetic study— to identify the underlying cause of symptoms or illness. They found that a subset of Neanderthal-derived genetic variants was more prevalent in autistic people than in those without the condition.

The DNA variations may also impact a person with many diseases or illnesses because they have also been linked to features like intellectual disability, language delay, and language regression.

Researchers contrasted autistic people with their siblings who did not have the condition. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are variations in 25 common and uncommon Neanderthal genes, were shown to be substantially more prevalent in individuals with autism.

These findings strongly imply that autism susceptibility in major American communities is significantly influenced by DNA acquired from Neanderthals. The unusual DNA was much more common in people who both had epilepsy and a family history of autism. It was most common in three ethnic groups: white Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, and white non-Hispanic.

According to Emily Casanova, the study's primary author and assistant professor of neuroscience at Loyola University New Orleans, readers should be aware that the typical finding of our research is that individuals with autism have more uncommon Neanderthal variations, not that they have more Neanderthal DNA overall. This indicates that a portion of Neanderthal DNA does influence autism susceptibility, even though not all of it does.

She added that they were aware that many people would read the headline and instantly conclude that those with autism have more Neanderthal DNA than those without the condition, that they are "more Neanderthal, according to Cassanova. She understood them and wouldn't hold them accountable for the erroneous belief.

"Our results are a little more nuanced than 'autistic people are just more Neanderthal,'" Casanova said.

The study marked the first time scientists have presented compelling evidence linking a fraction of Neanderthal DNA to autism, an illness for which there is now no known cure. Their research may shed light on the intricate structure of autism and the ways that the genetic admixture of modern and ancient people has created contemporary diseases.

However, more studies examining the genome are required to demonstrate that Neanderthal DNA influences the development of autism.

ALSO READ: 56,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Looks Like Modern Human in Expert's Digital Facial Reconstruction

Individuals With Neanderthal Genes at Higstudiesisk of Deadly COVID

Another study also learned that people with Neanderthal genes are at higher risk of developing a deadly COVID. A lethal strain of COVID is twice as likely to strike people with Neanderthal DNA. Prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, and autoimmune diseases are also linked to the DNA of a 4,000-year-old extinct species.

Italian researchers found that people with three variations of the Neanderthal gene were twice as likely to acquire severe pneumonia and three times more likely to require hospitalization on a ventilator after contracting the virus.

Senior author Professor Hugo Zeberg of the Swedish Karolinska Institutet states that if you have one copy of the Neanderthal variety, your risk increases by 60 to 70 percent, and if you have two copies- one from each parent- your risk increases by three times. Other studies claim the risk increase is significantly higher, increasing up to five times with two copies and twice with one copy.

One can find out how much Neanderthal DNA they have using commercial ancestry tests. Jori Waskahat, a designer and content creator from Canada, discovered he has 98% more Neanderthal genes than the average person. Although Wakahas has more Neanderthal genes than most individuals, it only comprised less than two percent of his DNA overall.