Neanderthals could have died out because their bodies overheated

From the Telegraph: Neanderthals could have died out because their bodies overheated.

Analysis of DNA obtained from Neanderthal remains has revealed key differences from modern humans that suggest their bodies produced excess heat.

While in the cold climate of an ice age this would have provided the species with an advantage, as the earth warmed they would have been less able to cope. Ultimately this would have caused their extinction around 24,000 years ago.

Scientists at Newcastle University have put forward the theory after examining a particular form of genetic material which was obtained from the fossilised bones of Neanderthals.

By comparing it with that found in modern humans, they discovered that [continue].

One thought on “Neanderthals could have died out because their bodies overheated

  1. I can relate to this story. I get overheated easily; I’m most comfortable when everyone else is all bundled up, shivering, turning blue and complaining about the cold. I suffer in hot weather and have actually had a medical emergency relating to being overheated before I learned that, dignity be damned, if I need to stick my head under a faucet and walk around dripping wet, so be it. It’s a question of survival for me.

    Now it’s winter and I’m in my element. Maybe I was a polar bear in a former incarnation…or a Neanderthal.

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