Denisovans or their close relatives identified in the fossil record using a gene regulatory phenotyping method. Now out:
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

For additional specimens we think likely belong to Denisovans, see Nadav Mishol's beautiful preprint, in collaboration with
@lirancarmel.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Interestingly, our Denisovan trait prediction accuracy now stands at 89% - matching the accuracy we estimated using Neanderthal and chimpanzee data. Always nice when the model does what it says on the tin.

6 years ago, we predicted what Denisovans probably looked like. Since then, every new Denisovan specimen💀 - Harbin, Penghu, Xiahe - matched it beautifully.
☑️ Xiahe: 4/4 features match the profile
☑️ Penghu: 5/6
☑️ and now: Harbin with 16/18!
See 🧵
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31539495/

Last year, we posted a preprint providing the first genetic evidence that the Harbin skull likely belonged to a Denisovan: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Today, DNA evidence provided the final proof: www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.weizmann.ac.il/science/arti...

Find out about other potential Denisovan specimens here, in a beautiful work led by Nadav Mishol: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @lirancarmel.bsky.social

Super exciting to see the Penghu jaw confirmed as Denisovan— its features line up beautifully with what we predicted Denisovan mandibles to look like! More in the thread 🧵 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31539495/

Interested in discovering the genetic changes that made us human? Our lab is looking for students and postdocs! 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬 gokhmanlab.com
please RT!