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Article: Neanderthals could taste bitter flavors just like modern humans.
- Article from:
- Asian News International
- Article date:
- August 12, 2009
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Byline: ANI
London, August 12 (ANI): DNA analysis of ancient remains shows that Neanderthals shared with modern humans the gene that gives the ability to taste bitter flavors.
Most people find the chemical, known as PTC, very bitter, but 25 percent cannot taste it at all.
According to a report by BBC News, analysis of the 48,000 year-old bone shows that the genetic variation responsible for this difference also existed in Neanderthals.
Dr Carles Lalueza-Fox from the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva in Barcelona said that this means that this genetic variation predates the divergence of the lineages leading to Neanderthals and modern ...