DNA link to Neanderthals

MOST of us have a Neanderthal side thanks to some wayward behaviour by our distant ancestors, it was suggested yesterday.

Experts are now convinced that early modern humans and Neanderthals interbred between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago.

Inter-human relations occurred as the first pioneering bands of Homo sapiens ventured out of Africa, scientists believe.

When they reached the Middle East they ran into groups of Neanderthals who preceded them. The rest, as they say, is history.

As a result, between 1% and 4% of the DNA of non-African people alive today is Neanderthal, according to the research.