People living in the highlands of Papua New Guinea may benefit from having Denisovan DNA
Michael Runkel/Danita Delimont/Getty Images/Gallo Images Roots
Highland and lowland peoples of Papua New Guinea have different frequencies of some Denisovan genetic variants, which may help them adapt to local environmental conditions.
The Denisovans were a species of human that inhabited eastern Eurasia for hundreds of thousands of years, meaning they had plenty of time to adapt to different environments.
After leaving Africa, Homo sapiens interbred with other human species, including the Denisovans.
Source: www.newscientist.com
