Neanderthal blood-clotting gene tied to survival in childbirth, study finds
Researchers at Oxford Brookes University and the University of Cambridge looked at SNP rs3917862, a hypercoagulability allele inherited from Neanderthals that persists in modern populations. Modelling national census data on maternal mortality ratios alongside GDP and skilled birth attendance, they found women without the allele were 0.1% more likely to die in childbirth. Deaths from interpersonal violence showed no link to the allele, suggesting it was maternal survival, not violent trauma, that kept it in the gene pool.
The findings push back against claims that Neanderthal DNA harmed modern human health, and point instead to childbirth survival as the selective pressure behind it.
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