Living on the edge: Was demographic weakness the cause of Neanderthal demise?

The causes of disappearance of the Neanderthals, the only human population living in Europe before the arrival of Homo sapiens, have been debated for decades by the scientific community. Different hypotheses have been advanced to explain this demise, such as cognitive, adaptive and cultural inferiority of Neanderthals. Here, we investigate the disappearance of Neanderthals by examining the extent of demographic changes needed over a period of 10,000 years (yrs) to lead to their extinction.

Admixture Indicative Interval (AII): a new approach to assess trends in genetic admixture.

The genetic admixture is a dynamic and diachronic process, taking place during a great number of generations. Consequently, a sole admixture rate does not represent such an event and several estimates could help to take into account its dynamics. We developed an Admixture Indicative Interval (AII) which gives a mathematical key to avoid this problem by integrating several admixture estimators and their respective accuracy into a single metric and provides a trend in genetic admixture.

Neanderthals versus Modern Humans: Evidence for Resource Competition from Isotopic Modelling.

During later MOIS3, in Europe two populations were present, autochthonous Neanderthals and modern humans. Ecological competition between these two populations has often been evoked but never demonstrated. Our aim is to establish whether resource competition occurred.

Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp., spatial clustering and patterns of shedding in dairy calves from Córdoba, Argentina.

The objectives of this study were to estimate calf and herd prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp., the herd prevalence clustering, spatial distribution according to soil type and shedding patterns in dairy calves from Cordoba, Argentina.

Gender and population history: sex bias revealed by studying genetic admixture of Ngazidja population (Comoro Archipelago).

The peopling of Comoro Archipelago is defined by successive waves of migration from three main areas: the East African Coast (Bantu-speaking populations), the Persia and Arabian Peninsula, and Southeast Asia (especially Indonesia). It follows an apparent classic trihybrid admixture model. To better understand the Comorian population admixture dynamics, we analyzed the contributions of these three historical parental components to its genetic pool.