Longer noses on humans ‘may be inherited from Neanderthals’

Longer noses on humans may be inherited from Neanderthals, new research suggests.

The new study, led by University College London (UCL) researchers, found that a particular gene, which leads to a taller nose, may have been the product of natural selection as ancient humans adapted to colder climates after leaving Africa.

“In the last 15 years, since the Neanderthal genome has been sequenced, we have been able to learn that our own ancestors apparently interbred with Neanderthals, leaving us with little bits of their DNA,” said Dr Kaustubh Adhikari, co-corresponding author of the study.

“Here, we find that some DNA inherited from Neanderthals influences the shape of our faces.

“This could have been helpful to our ancestors, as it has been passed down for thousands of generations,” he added.

Previous studies have suggested that narrower nostrils are better for cold climates because thinner nasal passages help to increase the moisture content of air and warm it. 

Humans may have developed thinner noses as they migrated away from Africa, it is thought.

In the new UCL-led Candela study, researchers used data from more than 6,000 people across Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, who have mixed European, Native American and African ancestry.

Genetic information from the participants was compared to photographs of their faces.

To see how different facial traits were linked to the presence of different genetic markers, the researchers looked specifically at distances between points on their faces, such as the tip of the nose or the edge of the lips.

According to the study, researchers newly identified 33 genome regions associated with face shape.

They were able to replicate 26 in comparisons with data from other ethnicities using people in East Asia, Europe, or Africa.

Different noses for different climates

In one genome region in particular, called ATF3, the researchers found that many people in their study with Native American ancestry, as well as others with East Asian ancestry from another group, had genetic material that was inherited from the Neanderthals.

They found that this contributed to increased nasal height.

This gene region has signs of natural selection, suggesting that it conferred an advantage for those carrying the genetic material, the researchers said.

First author Dr Qing Li, of Fudan University, said: “It has long been speculated that the shape of our noses is determined by natural selection; as our noses can help us to regulate the temperature and humidity of the air we breathe in, different shaped noses may be better suited to different climates that our ancestors lived in.

“The gene we have identified here may have been inherited from Neanderthals to help humans adapt to colder climates as our ancestors moved out of Africa.”

Co-corresponding author Professor Andres Ruiz-Linares added: “Most genetic studies of human diversity have investigated the genes of Europeans; our study's diverse sample of Latin American participants broadens the reach of genetic study findings, helping us to better understand the genetics of all humans.”

Researchers say the finding, published in the journal Communications Biology, is the second discovery of DNA from archaic humans - distinct from Homo sapiens - which appears to affect our face shape.

In 2021 the same team discovered that a gene influencing lip shape was inherited from the ancient Denisovans.