Chapter 12: The Madness Gene

July 14, 2019

 

          In Chapter 12, Kolbert starts with the findings of Homo Neanderthals in Germany, Europe, and the Middle East. Neanderthals had sophisticated tools, wore animal skins for warmth, and hunted for food; but around 30,000 years ago they disappeared leaving scientists to assume it was either the environmental change or Homo Sapiens that killed them. Kolbert meets Svante Pääbo, the director of the department of evolutionary genetics, who studies, who studies "Paleogenetics" and wants to map out the Neanderthal genome to compare it with a human genome. The genetic code made up of (Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine) deteriorates fast, but luckily scientists found the DNA in the bone remains of the Neanderthals. With the DNA, theories such as the "Out of Africa" suggests that humans living in Africa moved out to different places such as America, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Australia soon evolving to Homo Neanderthal in Asia. While a replacement theory suggests human beings moved out of Africa to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East; but upon meeting the Neanderthals they interbred. This brings it to the APES Theme: Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems; a sustainable combination and development are required. According to page 247, "Before modern humans "replaced" the Neanderthals, they had sex with them. The liaisons produced children, who helped to populate Europe, Asia, and The New World"; humans developed this survival practice of interbreeding with its "sister" species. In pages 251-2, Pääbo states "If we one day will know that some freak mutation made the human insanity and exploration thing possible, it will be amazing to think that it was this little inversion on this chromosome that made all this happen and changed the whole eco
ystem of the planet and made us dominate everything". [P] I believe that this crazy "mad" gene pushes us to do things such as interbreed and conquer to assume not just that we die out but also dominate; however, soon this gene will be our demise.