The mysterious Denisovans, perhaps the most elusive of all the archaic hominin species, emerged following their divergence from Neanderthals approximately 400,000 years ago. Like Neanderthals, these extinct cousins of modern humans made important contributions to the human genome, which helped shape our evolution and make us what we are today. But as new research has revealed, the story of the Denisovan genetic exchange with early humans was more complex than previously known. In a new study just published in the journal Nature Genetics, two scientists affiliated with Trinity College Dublin’s Smurfit Institute of Genetics, lead author Dr. Linda Ongaro and her colleague Dr. Emilia Huerta-Sanchez, reviewed all the existing literature on Denisovan and human interbreeding, and were able to identify three separate periods when Denisovans were breeding with early humans regularly. They also found that the Denisovans had split into two distinct populations at some point, but that both of these had interbred with human ancestors, adding yet another layer of complexity to these interactions. Read moreSection: NewsEvolution & Human OriginsHuman OriginsScienceRead Later