Scientists find new human family with Pacific lineage

[Stacey King]

ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA - Pacific Beat Updated December 23, 2010 17:24:20

Scientists have always believed Neanderthals were our closest relatives, now some scientists have discovered a member of the human family we never knew existed.

DNA from a fingerbone and a tooth discovered in a cave in Siberia shows the "Denisovans" were as closely related to modern humans as Neanderthals.

And there's evidence that the Denisovan lineage is still alive today in the Pacific.

Presenter: Simon Lauder
Speaker: Professor Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute in Germany

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