Neanderthal genes and Covid-19

Some genetic variants inherited from Neanderthals may protect against developing severe Covid-19.

A new study looked at a stretch of DNA on chromosome 12 where a haplotype — a cluster of genetic variants that are inherited together — that affect susceptibility to the coronavirus is located. For each copy of the Neanderthal haplotype a person inherited, the risk of needing intensive care fell approximately 22 percent, researchers report in the March 2 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The variants may affect the activity or function of genes involved in a biochemical chain reaction that ends with the destruction of viral RNA, including the coronavirus’. The protective variants are largely absent among people in sub-Saharan Africa, where few people carry genes inherited from Neanderthals. About 25 to 30 percent of present-day people of Asian and European ancestry carry the protective variants. Some Black people in the Americas also inherited the protective haplotype, presumably from Asian, European or Native American ancestors.

Research shows that genetic inheritance can help or hinder the immune response to disease.

Reptilian altitude record

High in the Peruvian Andes, a lizard has claimed the title of world’s highest altitude reptile. The lizard was spotted as high as 5,400 metres in elevation, exposed to frigid temperatures, intense ultraviolet radiation and low oxygen, researchers report in Herpetozoa.

In October 2020, zoologist José Cerdeña and colleagues ascended Peru’s Chachani volcano, which rises 6,057 meters above sea level. The team was looking for Liolaemus lizards, also known as tree iguanas, and found them as the researchers climbed above 5,000 meters.

The lizards, tentatively identified as Liolaemus tacnae, is known to survive at high altitude areas in Peru, and at least one population near Chachani was previously spotted some 4,000 metres above sea level.

Survival in such forbidding conditions is hard enough for mammals, but cold-blooded reptiles face additional temperature regulation obstacles, so records of reptiles this high are rare. Until now, the highest living reptile was a cold-hardy species of toad-headed agama lizard (Phrynocephalus erythrurus) living on the Tibetan Plateau at 5,300 metres. The Andean lizard breaks the old record by 100 metres.

Climate change could have facilitated Liolaemus’ status as a record holder, as colder conditions have retreated up mountain peaks in the face of warming. It is possible that this lizard species began to colonize this altitude recently, researchers note.

First clone of endangered black-footed ferret

The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced the successful cloning of a black-footed ferret — the first time an endangered US animal has been cloned.

The female ferret, dubbed Elizabeth Ann, was cloned from the frozen cells of Willa, a black-footed ferret who lived more than 30 years ago.

Black-footed ferrets were declared extinct in 1979, but two years later a small population was found living on a Wyoming farmer’s property. Officials said all black-footed ferrets alive today are descended from seven individuals.

The cloned ferret will become part of a breeding programme and will add some genetic diversity to the species. Scientists are aiming to create more black-footed ferret clones in the coming months.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 6th, 2021