DNA linked to COVID-19 inherited by modern humans from Neanderthals: Study

A study has claimed that major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 in modern-day humans is inherited from Neanderthals, who existed 40,000-50,000 years ago. Neanderthals are extinct subspecies of present-day humans who lived across Eurasia. It is believed that Neandertals went extinct because of competition with modern-day humans, a great change in climate, unkwn disease, or a combination of all se factors. study claimed that genes linked to coronavirus disease entered modern human population from Neanderthals. study identified a gene cluster on chromosome 3 as a risk locus for respiratory failure in COVID-19 infections. 

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South Asians at higher risk

According to study, this gene set is mostly found in South Asian population (30 percent), followed by Europeans (8 percent) and East Asians (4 percent), where frequency of contracting virus gets higher. study also claimed that gene set is completely absent in Africa. population of Banglesh (63 percent) among South Asians carry highest piece of geme, at least one copy of Chromosome 3. "Currently it is t kwn what features in Neanderthals-derived region confers risk for severe COVID-19 and if effects of any such feature are specific to current coronaviruses or indeed to any or pathogens," study said. 

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study was carried out by Swedish geneticists Svante Paabo and Hugo Zeberg in association with Okinawa Institute of Science and Techlogy, Japan, Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and Max Planck Institute of Germany. According to figures by Johns Hopkins University, coronavirus outbreak has so far infected more than 12 million people worldwide and is responsible for nearly 5,55,000 deaths to date. As per reports, virus originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, where exotic animals were allegedly being tred illegally. 

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