Morning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.
Morning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.
Hundreds of genetic variants carried by Neanderthals and Denisovans are shared by people who like to get up early.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/science/neanderthal-sleep-morning-people.html
By Carl Zimmer
Dec. 14, 2023
-snip-
The new study compared DNA in living humans with genetic material retrieved from Neanderthal fossils. It turns out that Neanderthals carried some of the same clock-related genetic variants as do people who report being early risers.
-snip-
Research carried out over the past few years by John Capra, a geneticist at the University of California, San Francisco, and other scientists suggested that some of those genes passed on a survival advantage. Immune genes inherited from Neanderthals and Denisovans, for example, might have protected them from new pathogens they had not encountered in Africa.
-snip-
The researchers found over 1,000 mutations that were unique only to living humans or to Neanderthals and Denisovans. Their analysis revealed that many of these mutations probably had important effects on how the body clock operated. The researchers predicted, for example, that some body-clock proteins that are abundant in our cells were much scarcer in the cells of Neanderthals and Denisovans.
-snip-
Along with their DNA, the volunteers provided answers to a long list of health-related questions, including whether they were early risers or night owls. To Dr. Capra’s surprise, almost all the ancient body-clock variants increased the odds that the volunteers were morning people.
-snip-
Lots more good stuff at the link.
Carl Zimmer covers news about science for The Times and writes the Origins column.
= new reply since forum marked as read
was the earliest I've ever willingly woken up in my life. 
