Science

McArthur, E., Rinker, D.C. & Capra, J.A. Quantifying the contribution of Neanderthal introgression to the heritability of complex traits. Nat Commun 12, 4481 (2021).

As I read the paper, many of the potentially maladaptive genes associated with Neanderthal DNA washed out with selection, although obviously not all did.

The chief association that these authors seem to note seems to be skin pigmentation related. I find this interesting because I'll be giving a lecture soon in which I will refer obliquely to NKCX5 gene product, a calcium transporter chiefly involved in skin pigmentation via as a part of melanin synthesis. Europeans have a single nucleotide polymorphism in this gene which is a mutant of an earlier form. It accounts for their/my (mutant) skin color. I thus downloaded the paper your comments inspired me to find. Thanks.

Be healthy, be well.