Editor's Summary
20 July 2006
Gene hunters
New genetic techniques and the availability of the modern human genome for comparison have spurred new-found interest in Neanderthals. With few museum specimens yielding DNA, and concerns about sample contamination from modern humans, fresh Neanderthal fossils are hot property. The gene rush is on.
News Feature: Palaeoanthropology: Decoding our cousins
DNA extracted from bones could shed light on what happened when our ancestors crossed paths with Neanderthals. But not everyone can get the fossils out of the ground, as Rex Dalton learns.
doi:10.1038/442238a