Ancient DNA challenges theory that inbreeding drove Neanderthal extinction (opens in new tab)

A new ancient-DNA study of late Neanderthals in northwestern Europe found that some groups retained more genetic diversity than scientists had previously recognized, challenging the idea that inbreeding and genetic decline explain Neanderthal extinction across the species' range. Researchers generated genetic data from 27 Neanderthals from sites in present-day Belgium and France dating to less than about 52,500 years ago, including a high-quality genome from a roughly 45,000-year-old individu...