Brazilian researchers believe they may have uncovered some of the oldest known human viruses in a set of more than 50,000-year-old Neanderthal bones.
The two prehistoric men were found in a cave in Russia and subjected to a DNA test. The team from the Federal University of São Paulo, said there were traces of papillomavirus (HPV) and an adenovirus (which causes cold sores), alongside other viruses.
According to the authors of the pre-print study — which was yet to undergo peer review — the discovery could suggest a possible reason our closest human relative went extinct.
It has long been theorised that Neanderthals were wiped out by viruses. "The identification of viral genome remnants in Neanderthal sequencing reads is an initial step to address this hypothesis," the study said.
"Taken together, our data indicates that these viruses might represent viruses that really infected Neanderthals," the study’s lead author, Marcelo Briones, told NewScientist.
The study also suggested that Neanderthals could have been infected with the same viruses that affect modern humans.
Adenoviruses were incredibly common today, presenting as cold or flu-like illnesses. The most common papillomavirus today was HPV— spread through skin-to-skin contact.
The researchers nextplanned to synthesise the viruses and see how they compared to modern versions.
"These Jurassic Park-like viruses could then be studied for their reproductive and pathogenic traits and compared to present-day counterparts," Briones said.
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