Credit: Unsplash

The Swedish geneticist made crucial discoveries about human evolution.

Way back in 2010, Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo created a previously unthinkable method for extracting and sequencing genetic information from the unearthed bones of ancient Neanderthals. Not only did this open up an entirely new sphere of genetic research, but it allowed geneticists to trace back human lineage to discover the point at which Homo sapiens intermingled with Neanderthals.

For his groundbreaking research, the Nobel Prize Committee has officially awarded Pääbo with the 2022 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. “Pääbo’s seminal research gave rise to an entirely new scientific discipline; paleogenomics,” the committee said. “By revealing genetic differences that distinguish all living humans from extinct hominins, his discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human.”

“His major contribution is being a pioneer in recovering ancient DNA and that has been extremely important in the study of human evolution.” Chris Stringer, research lead in human evolution at London’s Natural History Museum, told CNN.

“I think the Neanderthal genome was his biggest single contribution. It revealed that Neanderthals interbred with us. That was disputed for many years, including by me. But he showed that most of us have ancient DNA (from Neanderthals and/or Denisovans),” Stringer added.

BREAKING NEWS:
The 2022 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Svante Pääbo “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.” pic.twitter.com/fGFYYnCO6J

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 3, 2022

“This is an important science discovery in evolutionary biology,” said David Paterson, a professor at Oxford University and the president of The Physiological Society in the United Kingdom. “Ascribing physiological function to highly conserved mitochondrial genes has been important in our understanding in high-altitude acclimatisation as populations move and adapt to new environments, and how genetic variants affect us on a day-to-day basis in health and disease.”