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Ancient human relatives found hiding in modern DNA

31 July 2026 · in 80 words

Ancient human relatives found hiding in modern DNA

Scientists have found traces of two unknown human species in our DNA, suggesting a more complex evolutionary history. One "ghost ancestor" interbred with modern humans in Africa over 50,000 years ago, with its DNA making up about 0.5% to 1% of all modern human genomes.

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