Denisovan Gene Variants May Influence Modern Mental Conditions

As our ancient human ancestors migrated out of Africa about 60,000 years ago, they encountered Denisovans, a subspecies of archaic humans, in Asia. This event led to some type of interaction that resulted in offspring, and modern humans still carry some of the evidence of that event in their genome. A new study has identified a genetic variant found in modern humans that seems to have originated with Denisovans, and may have helped ancient humans adapt to cold temperatures. This genetic variant has an influence on the regulation of zinc, as well as…