Neandertal gene variants both increase and decrease the risk for severe COVID-19
Last year, researchers showed that a major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals. Now the same researchers show that Neandertals also contributed a protective variant. Half of all people outside Africa carry a Neandertal gene variant that reduces the risk of needing intensive care for COVID-19 by 20 percent. …read more