DNA study challenges Neanderthal inbreeding extinction theory (opens in new tab)

A new ancient-DNA study of late Neanderthals reports that some of the last known populations in northwestern Europe were more genetically diverse and better connected than researchers expected, challenging the idea that inbreeding or genetic deterioration drove their extinction. The analysis examined genetic data from 27 Neanderthal individuals found in Belgium and France, including remains from the Meuse Basin and a high-coverage genome from Goyet Cave in Belgium dated to about 45,000 years ...