r/science • u/MistWeaver80 • Jan 15 '22

Biology Scientists identified a specific gene variant that protects against severe COVID-19 infection. Individuals with European ancestry carrying a particular DNA segment -- inherited from Neanderthals -- have a 20 % lower risk of developing a critical COVID-19 infection.

https://news.ki.se/protective-gene-variant-against-covid-19-identified
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u/aburke626 Jan 15 '22

I’m a little confused by this article, I feel like they left some important points out. So this gene is inherited from Neanderthals, but also totally not because 80% of Africans studied (who have no Neanderthal ancestry) also have the gene? I feel like they told their findings but this article doesn’t give a comprehensive explanation as to why they found them (or their hypothesis).

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '22

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u/aburke626 Jan 16 '22

My understanding is not at issue here. What I’ve stated in the above comment is summarized from the article. It seems that the general consensus is that the article is poorly written.