Many people may not be satisfied with the shape of their nose and may even resort to plastic surgery. So to whom do we owe the shape of our nose, one of the most prominent figures of our face?
Scientists have revealed that Neanderthal DNA played a role in the formation of the shape of our nose.
The new study, led by UCL researchers, suggests that people who adapted to colder climates after leaving Africa were the source of the gene that causes a longer nose.
Dr Kaustubh Adhikari, who led the study, said: “Since the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome, we have been able to learn that our own ancestors mated with Neanderthals, leaving us little bits of their DNA. We found that some DNA inherited from Neanderthals influenced the shape of our faces.”
MORE THAN 6 THOUSAND PEOPLE REVIEWED
Researchers; It used data from more than 6,000 people of European, Native American and African descent collected from Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru.
Genetic information from humans was compared with photos of their faces. The researchers looked at the distances between points on faces, such as the tip of the nose or the edge of the lips, to see how different facial features were linked to different genetic traits. And they identified 33 genome regions.
Specifically, the researchers found that in a region of the genome called ATF3, many people with Native American ancestry have a genetic imprint inherited from Neanderthals. This causes the nose to increase in length.
CLIMATE CONDITIONS CHANGES THE SHAPE OF THE NOSE
Dr Qing Li from Fudan University said: “It has long been predicted that this is how the shape of our noses is formed. Because our noses can help us regulate the temperature and humidity of the air we breathe, different nose shapes may be better suited to the different climates our ancestors lived in. The gene we identified here may have been inherited from Neanderthals to help humans adapt to colder climates as our ancestors left Africa.”
Co-author Professor Andres Ruiz-Linares, from Fudan University, UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment and Aix-Marseille University, added: “Most genetic studies of human diversity investigate the genes of Europeans. However, the diverse Latin American participants in our study expand the scope of genetic study findings and help us better understand the genetics of all humans.”
Researchers say the discovery is the second DNA discovery to affect our facial shape, unlike Homo Sapiens. The same team discovered in a 2021 paper that a gene that affects lip shape was also inherited from ancient Denisovans.
