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[Padre5]

London - Red hair may be the genetic legacy of Neanderthals, according to a new study by British scientists.
Researchers at the John Radcliffe Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford were quoted by The Times as saying the so-called "ginger gene" which gives people red hair, fair skin and freckles could be up to 100 000 years old.
They claim that their discovery points to the gene having originated in Neanderthal man who lived in Europe for 200 000 years before Homo sapien settlers, the ancestors of modern man, arrived from Africa about 40 000 years ago. Rosalind Harding, the research team leader, told The Times: "The gene is certainly older than 50 000 years and it could be as old as 100 000 years.
"An explanation is that it comes from Neanderthals." It is estimated that at least 10 percent of Scots have red hair and a further 40 percent carry the gene responsible, which could account for their once fearsome reputation as fighters.
Neanderthals have been characterised as migrant hunters and violent cannibals who probably ate most of their meat raw. They were taller and stockier than Homo sapiens, but with shorter limbs, bigger faces and noses, receding chins and low foreheads.
The two species overlapped for a period of time and the Oxford research appears to suggests that they must have successfully interbred for the "ginger gene" to survive. Neanderthals became extinct about 28 000 years ago, the last dying out in southern Spain and southwest France. - Sapa-DPA
http://www.freerepub...r/1322006/posts

AND,

New DNA Research Shows Irish Are Neanderthals
Philadelphia PA-- Stunning new research from a major university here is sending shockwaves throughout the world. DNA sequencing of Neanderthal bone marrow indicates "man's cousin" never went extinct. They are the Irish.
The research had many surprises. Neanderthals were all red-headed and blue-eyed. Every human alive today with the same features is at least partly Neanderthal. The related genes were unknown in human populations until inbreeding with troglodytes.
The Irish people have the most Neanderthal genes of any human population. It helps to explain Irish traits such as their love for sad music and story telling. Gaelic is probably the oldest surviving human language--well over 100,000 years according to linguists.
There is some controversy in the scientific community about whether the Irish, or Neanderthals, should even be considered human. Most scientists are compassionate but would have to say they are not.
The United Nations is voting later today to dissolve the Irish government and make the entire island a nature preserve.
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[Wanderer]

While The Spoof has some funny articles, they're usually just that, spoofs of actual news stories. I prefer The Onion.

[Padre5]

The Onion has not reported on this subject yet!