Neanderthal Man- page 3 | Science | Smithsonian  Neanderthal Man
Svante Paabo has probed the DNA of Egyptian mummies and extinct
animals. Now he hopes to learn more about what makes us tick by
decoding the DNA of our evolutionary cousins.  Smithsonian
Magazine | Subscribe  (Continued from page 2)  Paabo is also
returning to one of his original obsessions. Using a fossil from
a site in Croatia, he and his colleagues are trying to derive
much longer Neanderthal DNA sequences—not just the DNA that runs
the mitochondria, but the DNA that is responsible for building
the rest of the body. Their goal is to reconstruct the entire
genetic blueprint for making a Neanderthal. It's a technically
daunting task, and Paabo estimates it will take about two years
to finish. But being able to compare our genome with that of our
evolutionary relatives could highlight key turning points in our
evolution.  The ultimate goal of his research, Paabo says, is to
identify the genetic changes that made us human. Of course, no
historic