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I think the question should be. Are there humans today that are descendants of the Neantherthals ? If true, then they live through us.

• BurningFrog 8y ago
  That question is answered. Pretty much all non African humans have Neanderthal DNA. Around 2% on average.
  • 08-15 8y ago
    Did you follow the actual science? First neanderthal genome, 2010: about 6% admixture. Denisova, 2011: 2.5% admixture. Altai neanderthal, 2014: 1.5% admixture. Every time the quality of the genome improved, the estimated admixture decreased. Isn't that a bit suspicious? And even if it isn't purely an artifact, the direction of the admixture was never established. Could be some neanderthal genes survived in humans, could be some human genes died with neanderthals. Could be that the analysis is no good.
    • BurningFrog 8y ago
      I haven't followed it that closely, no, and your numbers are new to me. I'll admit that the facts can be reinterpreted in the future with more data. But calling them "suspicious" makes it sound like there is some conspiracy now.
      • 08-15 8y ago
        All the analysis comes from the same team (Pääbo and Reich), so no conspiracy is needed. And it's not even scientific misconduct, it's just incompetence.