Study finds connection between modern Eurasians, Neanderthals

A recent study by the National Science Foundation found that people who currently live in Eurasia have genetic material linked to Neanderthals from the Altai mountains in present-day Siberia, according to a press release from the foundation. 

The study supports evidence found in recent years that Neanderthals and the ancestors of modern humans interbred, according to the press release.

"It's not a single introgression of genetic material from Neanderthals," lead researcher Omer Gokcumen said in the release. "It's just this spider web of interactions that happen over and over again. The ancestors of modern humans in Africa start expanding in population and as they expand their range, they meet with these other hominins and absorb their DNA, if you will."

The press release said the study looked at DNA from hundred of individuals with Eurasian heritage.

"It seems like the story of human evolution is not so much like a tree with branches that just grow in different directions. It turns out that the branches have all these connections between them," Gokcumen said in the press release.