How do scientists know they hooked up?

We all have a little Neanderthal DNA - here’s how we figured that out.

WELCOME TO HOWTOWN! Our small but mighty team of two (Joss Fong and Adam Cole) digs into the evidence behind commonly held facts and claims in the news.

We're grateful for the generous support of the Patreon Town Council:
Flora Somogyi
Bev Fong
Ruben K
Andrii Makukha
Sean Barrett
Mike Purvis
Chris Wubbels
Carlos Saborio-Romero
Mike Paukst
Lawrence Doherty
Jim
Jon Hewett
Albychen
Hernando Garcia
Sean Talon

To keep Howtown going and get bonus content:
JOIN OUR PATREON

ASK US A QUESTION

KEY SOURCES:
A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome

Identifying and Interpreting Apparent Neanderthal Ancestry in African Individuals

Modern human incursion into Neanderthal territories 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France

FULL SOURCE LIST:

BOOKS!
“The Naked Neanderthal” by Ludovic Slimak

“Who We Are and How We Got Here” by David Reich

Chapters:
00:00 intro
01:06 discovering Neanderthals
03:00 why it's not easy
04:35 extracting DNA
06:34 assembling the genome
08:00 proving they did it
09:57 the species problem
11:01 Neanderthal DNA in Africa
12:08 a new mystery
15:34 dating problems
16:36 fossilized smoke
18:34 conclusion
19:48 ground news

[parkame]

It's crazy how late you guys are into the science youtube game and yet the channel feels so unique and refreshing.

[afan]

I can't get over how cool the seasonal rings on the calcium rocks are!

[redumptious]

It took me waay too long to realize that you didn't mean that scientists just can't figure out how serious their relationship is..

[AniMerDol]

The fact you can chart the occupation timeline of a cave by the build-up of layers of soot & calcium deposits is incredible in itself, that you can travel back in time & smell the BBQ they had for supper totally blows my mind.

[HowToNguyen]

9:31 "thus the most obvious explanation is that they were - i n t e r b r e e d i n g" 🤖
🤣🤣

[nefariousyawn]

Incredible. I studied anthropology in the 2000's, and I love learning about how much new information has been discovered. I think you did a great job of explaining this for a lay person.

[pikapomelo]

This was very fun. I appreciate the video is a bit longer than the others. If a video becomes a bit too long, I may just pick it up later. So please make your videos as long as you like!

[JohnNelsonMaps]

nerd note: i love how you started with a linear scale on the common ancestor chart and then visually transformed it to logarithmic for us. that's craft!

[Howtown]

What burning questions do you have about Neanderthals, ancient DNA and early humans?

[klte]

Your channel is the cosiest bit of scientific educational content I have seen in a long while. The atmosphere reminds me of BBC science documentaries for some reason.

Also, Ludovic Slimak's workspace is awesome. It's like a tree house in the middle of a home.

[themasstermwahahahah]

I actually got goosebumps with the cave soot overlap reveal

[adrianwolff]

The story so good even the dog went to sleep.

[ItsFinigan]

“We saw you at the end of the bar and really dig your vibe.” Ahh thumbnail

[Infinitesimal-hoit]

Fascinating! I especially like how they determined (so far) that sapiens tended toward uniformity and efficiency and neanderthals tended toward uniqueness and creativity in the technology.

[eggstwelve]

English is not native for me so I don't even understand half of your videos. But this is still very interesting to watch. Your professionalism and the level of production are keeping me watching

[harendra]

i wish your content reached to millions

[christiana.]

As someone who is doing a PhD, I am really happy to watch these kinds of videos

[joeyagati]

Absolutely love this channel! This channel showcases that the PROCESS of science is really interesting and fun! Learning about HOW these scientific findings are done make the actual findings so much more impactful.

[purplecrouton]

15:00 it is extremely funny to me that only our lineage of humans is like. "Oh my god we have to standardize this. Fuck yes it is measuring time, get that individuality out of here you neanderthals."

[elizabethfreed]

My reactions to your videos always fall into a consistent pattern:

1. 🤯🧐😱💛 Learning! New! Things! (And from a trusted source who are actually explaining everything!)
2. Joss's voice is so smooth. (And Adam's is beautiful too! It helps my viewing enjoyment that I like listening to you guys talk! 😂)
3. I would like to meet your pets, especially Adam's cat who always sleeps in the background of your office. She looks like the world's most satisfied boss. 😁
4. I need to share this with everyone! And then rewatch!