your Neanderthal DNA

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This post is to discuss results of geneology tests that estimate a person's Neanderthal DNA %.
I recently took the test with 23andMe and got results of 2.9% Neanderthal, in the 80th percentile (0 percentile means no Neanderthal DNA.)

Their test appears to examine each person's DNA in relation to a representative sample of Neanderthal DNA and a comparison of sub-saharain African DNA which does not contain Neanderthal genetics, rather than a model that compares to the known samples of other test subjects. But, maybe I got that wrong.

Please feel free to discuss your results or other information you have on the subject. Personally, I suspect that Neanderthal DNA is a contributing factor to AS neurology. But, I am looking forward to all opinions and information on the subject.

Is that just a supposition on your part or based on any evidence or study? I try and keep up with the Hominid information (just in a hobbist/special interest way) but haven't heard that before.

There being no strong evidence of neanderthal DNA coming from Africa yet there are African-Americans people with autism I would tend to believe there is no correlation.

And yet I find the Neanderthal Theory of Autism to be intriguing...

Why do you think Neanderthal DNA has something to do with Autism?

I'm just curious. Neanderthals were my special interest when I was younger. I always espoused the notion that Neanderthals were within our species, rather than a separate species.

It seems to be that Neanderthals were, by necessity, social creatures.

How do you feel an autistic Neanderthal would have fared in the hunt? There's lots of sensory overload involved in hunting. Not to mention the necessity for much social reciprocity.

Imagine spearing a woolly mammoth--and then going into meltdown mode, while your fellow hunters potentially could be gored by the wounded mammoth? One has to be in cooperative mode at this times.

A Neanderthal autistic person, I believe, probably wouldn't have survived childhood--unless he was seen as someone who is "spiritual."

It is always possible, though, that a Neanderthal autistic person could have invented new tools when he/she was young, based upon his all-abiding focus upon the function of tools. If this occurred, the lack of social skills would have been attributed to some kind of "genius," and this person would have been spared from being one who is seen as being expendable.

I've read the theories over at
http://rdos.net/eng/asperger.htm

I found it to be pretty convincing.

There is no one 'slam dunk' fact, it is a bunch of little facts all piled up to prove the theory.

I had my Y-DNA (Haplogroup: R-M207; Subgroup: R1b1b2a1a-S128) and mtDNA (Haplogroup: U; Subgroup: U5) tested about 15 years ago. This year, I had my DNA SNPs tested. I haven't had my Neanderthal genome tested, but, based on some research which I have read, I suppose that I would probably have it because both R1b and U5 groups have been linked to it.

So far as tested, Sub Saharan Africans have none of the DNA theorized to be Neanderthal. The mixing of Homo Sapiens postulated to have taken place for a short period outside of Africa, specifically in the Middle East. So I agree with ksf777 that since Africans do have autism, autism is not related to Neanderthals.

The arguments presented for the case seem entirely circumstantial and subjective. I see no evidence or facts there.

But Neanderthal studies are for the most part themselves spectulative and very little evidence exsists to establish any details to their nature and behavior. What is often stated as facts about Neanderthals is really only conjecture. Theories are constantly being revised or abandoned as each new find occurs. Even the theory of their cross breeding with Homo Sapiens is strongly challenged and multiple recent studies published have come to the opposite conclusion and say we did not interbreed.

3% exactly. 93rd percentile. I'm not suprised, it seems everything about me is unusual. I'll wait for more research before I draw any conclusions about what it means.

I don't think the theory on rdos.net can explain all autism but given the convincing arguements, maybe it explains some autism - I don't know.

Maybe the twist of genes that led to neandethals is similar to the twist of genes that's responsible for autism in modern man - doesn't mean that were decended from neanderthals (coincidence does not mean causality) but it could mean that we may be similar to neandertahls because our genes share certain similarities for whatever reasons.

Seems a little more plausible than the whole "we're human/alien halfbreeds" theory.

Neanderthals typically lived in bands of around ten. Anatomically moderns lived in bands of around 60, embedded in larger tribes of around 500.

Anatomical moderns, like modern and recent tribes of hunter-gatherers, have evidence of wide ranging trade networks in their grave goods. For example: tribes living hundreds of miles inland will have jewelry made with sea shells. We dont see that so much with Neanderthals. So Neanderthals might have had a different "biopsychology" towards less social networking. So thats why some (nonscientists)have suggested that autistics may have inherited some of that biopsychology.

Am not a partisan of the hypothesis. But I get the logic behind it.

All I know is that "Neanderthals Speak" has not one Neanderthal working for them.

Is that true?

I mean that "Autism Speaks" doesnt employ autistics?

That sucks.

Supposedly, Neanderthals spoke by singing to each other.

I used to have a big obsession over neanderthals but I never read that autism is realated to them, although I did read they were anti social.