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Swedish biologist and evolutionary geneticist Svante Paabo won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. We tell what discoveries brought him scientific recognition
What happened
- On October 3, 2022, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine became known. The award was given to the Swedish biologist and evolutionary geneticist Svante Paabo for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct homins and human evolution.
- The scientist’s research allowed for the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome. Sequencing is the general name for methods that allow you to establish the sequence of nucleotides in a DNA molecule, that is, to analyze hereditary information.
- The scientist also discovered a until recently unknown hominin (a subfamily of the hominid family, which includes Homo sapiens, chimpanzees, gorillas, as well as a number of extinct groups) from Denisova Cave.
- Early in his career, Svante Paabo became interested in the possibility of using modern genetic methods to study the DNA of Neanderthals. While working, Paabo encountered some technical difficulties. For example, it turned out that DNA does not pass the test of time: it decomposes into short fragments and becomes chemically modified. So Paabo began to develop methods for studying DNA in Neanderthals.
- In 1990, the scientist began work at the University of Munich. There he decided to analyze the DNA of Neanderthal mitochondria. (bacteria-sized organelles). As a result, the scientist was able to sequence a region of mitochondrial DNA from a piece of bone at least 40 thousand years old, which was found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia.
- Later, Svante Paabo set himself another task – sequencing the nuclear genome of Neanderthals. He succeeded, and the first sequence of the Neanderthal genome was presented in 2010.
- After conducting a comparative analysis, the scientist came to the conclusion that the DNA sequences of Neanderthals are most similar to those of modern people from Europe or Asia. That is, in inhabitants of European and Asian origin, approximately 1–4% of the genome comes from Neanderthals.
What does it mean
Svante Paabo became one of the founders of a new scientific discipline – paleogenetics, located at the intersection of genetics and archeology. It helps scientists look for answers to the question of how modern man became the way he is, and what exactly caused genetic changes in the past.
Thanks to Paabo, the scientific community gained an idea that the genes of extinct “relatives” influence the physiology of modern people. An example is the EPAS1 gene, which was inherited by the inhabitants of Tibet from the Denisov man. This gene helps Tibetans live in the mountains at an altitude of more than 4,5 thousand meters. The gene is activated when the level of oxygen in the blood decreases and increases the production of red blood cells. Even from our Neanderthal ancestors, we received genes that help the immune system fight various types of infections.