Overview
- Researchers identified two Neanderthal-specific amino-acid changes in the growth-hormone receptor that entered Homo sapiens through interbreeding about 47,000 years ago.
- The study, published Wednesday in Current Biology, combined ancient genomes, engineered cell assays and analyses of more than 1.1 million adults from five biobanks.
- Cells engineered to carry the Neanderthal receptor showed roughly 39–40 percent greater proliferation and signaling when exposed to growth hormone than cells with the common modern receptor.
- Population analyses found carriers average about 0.25–0.27 kilograms more muscle and roughly 0.3 centimetres greater height as adults, with effects emerging after childhood, likely around puberty.
- The variant is common in parts of South and East Asia but rare in Europeans and absent in sub‑Saharan African populations, and researchers stress the effect is modest and acts within a broader polygenic and environmental context.