Neanderthal genome to be sequenced in Germany

German researchers have announced they will try to reconstruct the Neanderthal genome to investigate how the early biped's brain compares to that of a human.

Over the next two years, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology say they will be constructing a draft of three billion DNA base pairs of the Neanderthal to make up the genome.

There will likely be complications, say the scientists, as tissues in dead organisms usually get overrun by bacteria and fungi.

The researchers plan to use 40,000-year-old fossils, with only five per cent suspected to have Neanderthal DNA.

This project follows last year's mapping of the chimpanzee genome.

According to the researchers, there were too many genetic differences between the human and the chimp to study.

This triggered the idea of studying the Neanderthal, which could have has a smaller percentage difference between its genes and human DNA.

Scientists and anthropologists have long known about the relationship between Neanderthals and humans, which dates back 500,000 years.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the first Neanderthal finding in Neander Valley, Düsseldorf.

Photography: Skulls and Skeletons

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, July 24 edition