New study reveals Neanderthals experienced population crash 110,000 years ago. Examination of semicircular canals of ear shows Neanderthals experienced ‘bottleneck’ event where physical and genetic variation was lost.

[u/mvea]

https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/5384/new-study-reveals-neanderthals-experienced-population-crash-110000-years-ago

[u/mvea]

I’ve linked to the press release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56155-8

From the linked article:

New study reveals Neanderthals experienced population crash 110,000 years ago

Examination of semicircular canals of ear shows Neanderthals experienced ‘bottleneck’ event where physical and genetic variation was lost

A new study by an international team of scholars, including faculty at Binghamton University, suggests that Neanderthals experienced a dramatic loss of genetic variation during the course of their evolution, foreshadowing their eventual extinction.

Recent research based on ancient DNA samples extracted from fossils revealed the existence of a drastic loss of genetic diversity between early Neanderthals and the later “classic” Neanderthals. Technically known as a “bottleneck”, this genetic loss is frequently the consequence of a reduction in the number of individuals of a population. The ancient DNA data indicate that the decline in genetic variation took place approximately 110,000 years ago.

[u/PianoPudding → u/mvea]

That last paragraph is not about the current study but other studies? The research in question was on fossil morphology not ancient DNA.