What Beth Shapiro has said about Neanderthal admixture
2 quotes · 1 episode · Oct 5, 2026
Beth Shapiro, American evolutionary biologist and Chief Science Officer at Colossal Biosciences, formerly a professor at UC Santa Cruz and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has been quoted on Neanderthal admixture 2 times in 1 episode of Huberman Lab, most recently on October 5, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.
In their words
Shapiro says that pooling Neanderthal DNA fragments across living humans would reconstruct over 90% of the Neanderthal genome, implying most of it was not maladaptive.
“We would put together more than 90%, possibly more than 95% of the Neanderthal genome just from people who are alive today”
Huberman Lab: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life | Dr. Beth Shapiro (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 23:41
Shapiro says a Neanderthal-derived variant at roughly 50% frequency in Asian populations was associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes.
“one of the first alleles that was discovered to be associated with negative risk or bad outcomes of COVID was a gene that came from Neanderthals”
Huberman Lab: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life | Dr. Beth Shapiro (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 26:21
Episodes
Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life | Dr. Beth ShapiroHuberman Lab · Oct 5, 2026 · 2 h 16 min
Andrew Huberman talks with evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro about species concepts, Neanderthal DNA, Colossal Biosciences' de-extinction projects, genetic rescue, and the ethics of human genetic selection.
Beth Shapiro on other topics
- Dire wolf · 3 quotes
- De-extinction · 3 quotes
- Colossal Biosciences · 2 quotes
- Artificial womb · 1 quote
- Black-footed ferret · 1 quote
- Human germline editing and embryo screening · 1 quote
- Gene drive · 1 quote
- Northern quoll · 1 quote