According to<\/a>\u00a0the National Human Genome Research Institute, a human\u2019s genome consists of 23 pairs of\u00a0chromosomes<\/a>\u00a0located in the cell nucleus, as well as a chromosome in the cell\u2019s mitochondria.<\/p>\n Therefore, the DNA pool contains everything an individual needs to develop and function as an adult.<\/p>\n Scientists have been studying genomes to uncover the truth. (Getty stock images)<\/cite><\/div>\n In 2010,\u00a0experts<\/a>\u00a0began exploring modern human genomes and discovered genomes from\u00a0Neanderthals<\/a>\u00a0were present,\u00a0as per<\/a>\u00a0IFL Science.<\/p>\n The working theory was that there had been some\u00a0sexual contact<\/a>\u00a0between these ancient humans and now new research has cemented this idea further.<\/p>\n In a paper recently published in\u00a0Science<\/em>, researchers\u00a0admitted<\/a>\u00a0they\u2019d turned the 2010 study on its head by looking into how many modern human genes were present in the Neanderthal genome.<\/p>\n Results claimed that these ancient beings inherited as much as 10 percent of the modern human genome, thus further proving the pair had mingled in the past.<\/p>\n The study, spearheaded by Princeton University geneticist Joshua Akey, has been analyzing genomes in the hopes of discovering exactly when modern humans and Neanderthals began mingling.<\/p>\n The research saw the group study 2,000 living human genomes as well as three from Neanderthals and one Denisovan genome over 200,000 years.<\/p>\n According to the report, they found that modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthals began producing offspring between 200,000 and 250,000 years ago and that the dalliances were repeated 105,000 to 120,000 years ago and again around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.<\/p>\n That means modern-day humans traipsed from\u00a0Africa<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Europe<\/a>\u00a0to mate more times than was previously thought, says Akey.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now know that for the vast majority of human history, we’ve had a history of contact between modern humans and Neanderthals.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, this story is about dispersal, that modern humans have been moving around and encountering Neanderthals and Denisovans much more than we previously recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n To come to this conclusion, scientists studied the flow of genetic information over 200,000 years and discovered 2.5-3.7 percent of human ancestry present in Neanderthal DNA.<\/p>\n Neanderthals and modern humans are thought to have mingled earlier than originally believed. (Getty stock image)<\/cite><\/div>\n The study concludes that modern-day humans arrived in Europe from Africa to breed with Neanderthals around 200,000 years ago and later their genomes were likely assimilated into the Neanderthal populations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first time that geneticists have identified multiple waves of modern human-Neanderthal admixture,\u201d said Liming Li, a professor in the Department of Medical Genetics and Developmental Biology at Southeast University in Nanjing, China.<\/p>\n![\"Scientists](\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt715ec9f920e5121e\/66929570218bb45108e590a8\/DNA.jpg\")
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