Both Neanderthals and Europeans use the same gene to get red hair -- MC1R. The difference is that they both use the gene a bit differently. So for right now it looks like humans got their red hair from their own genes.
Red hair wasn't inherited from Neanderthals at all.
Icelanders can't blame Neanderthals for their red hair and freckles, new study says. If you think you got your freckles, red hair, or even narcolepsy from a Neanderthal in your family tree, think again. People around the world do carry traces of Neanderthals in their genomes.
We all have a little Neanderthal in us. The amount varies a bit, from less than a percent to likely over 2 percent, depending on our heritage. East Asians seem to have the most Neanderthal DNA in their genomes, followed by those of European ancestry.
Contrary to what many people assume, redheads did not originate in Scandinavia, Scotland or Ireland, but in central Asia. Their coloring is due to a mutation in the MC1R gene that fails to produce sun-protective, skin-darkening eumelanin and instead causes pale skin, freckles and red hair.
Redheadedness is a north and western European trait, but the pattern of redheads in the British Isles is more consistent with the ancient indigenous Celtic inhabitants who were here before the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.
In Asia, red hair can be found among some peoples of Afghan, Arab, Iranian, East Indians, Mongolian, Turkic, Miao, and Hmong descent. Several preserved samples of human hair have been obtained from an Iron Age cemetery in Khakassia, South Siberia.
So there was another family that didn't get about much. Getting back to the Australian aborigines, separate research has shown that they have roughly the same Neanderthal DNA component as non-Africans, which indicates they split off after at least the first interbreeding between the two species.
This information is generally reported as a percentage that suggests how much DNA an individual has inherited from these ancestors. The percentage of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans is zero or close to zero in people from African populations, and is about 1 to 2 percent in people of European or Asian background.
Together with an Asian people known as Denisovans, Neanderthals are our closest ancient human relatives. Scientific evidence suggests our two species shared a common ancestor. Current evidence from both fossils and DNA suggests that Neanderthal and modern human lineages separated at least 500,000 years ago.
Redheads have more pheomelanin and less eumelanin. According to a study published in 2015 in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology, the redheaded variations in the MC1R gene reduce the amount of eumelanin, resulting in fair skin. Eumelanin protects the skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Research has found links between Neanderthal DNA and fertility, how people feel pain and immune system functionality. Neanderthal DNA may affect skin tone and hair color, height, sleeping patterns, mood and even addiction in present-day Europeans.
The female Neandertal known as Vi33. 26, for example, had seven genes for brown eyes, one for "not-brown" eyes, three for blue eyes, and four for "not-blue eyes." By the researchers' reckoning, that means a six-gene balance in favor of brown and a negative balance for blue, so Vi33. 26's eyes were probably brown.
While scientific studies found no evidence to support these views, some physical traits are indeed characteristic of redheads: they have lower pain tolerance and require larger doses of painkillers, and even anesthetics.
People with red hair have a variant of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene. This gene controls the production of melanin, the pigment that gives skin, hair, and eyes their color. The cells that make melanin produce two forms—eumelanin and pheomelanin.
The closest individual and therefore the most similar to the "perfect genome" is an individual that corresponds to a Puerto Rican woman, and we can relate it to the Taino India known as Yuiza.
Several Neanderthal genes are also involved in the immune system and help us fight harmful viruses and bacteria. Looking back, it might have been good that our distant ancestors had kids with Neanderthals. Their genes helped our species survive to the present day.
The new analysis found Neanderthal DNA variants influence skin biology in modern humans, in particular the risk of developing sun-induced skin lesions called keratosis, which are caused by abnormal keratinocytes.
A new genomic study has revealed that Aboriginal Australians are the oldest known civilization on Earth, with ancestries stretching back roughly 75,000 years.
Results: The Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations had significantly different ABO and RhD distributions (P < 0.001). For Aboriginal individuals, 955/1686 (56.6%) were group O and 669/1686 (39.7%) were group A. In non-Aboriginal individuals, 1201/2657 (45.2%) were group O and 986/2657 (37.1%) were group A.
Genetic studies have revealed that Aboriginal Australians largely descended from an Eastern Eurasian population wave, and are most closely related to other Oceanians, such as Melanesians.
Yes, Vikings did have red beards. According to sources, red hair and beards are a genetic trait that is specific to Nordic tribes. It's even thought that some Norsemen would dye their red hair and beards to look blond using lye soap.
However, redheads are not only Celts or Caucasians. Their distribution is a testament to the global movement of DNA across societies and landscapes. Although most common in Northern Europe, parts of Russia, and among European descendants in Australia, there are redheads from all ethnicities and races.
And the statistics bear that stereotype out. Ireland has the highest per capita percentage of redheads in the world -- anywhere from 10 to 30 percent, according to Eupedia, a website that explores European genetics and ancestry. They are almost equally prevalent in Scotland and other pockets of Celtic pride.