Neanderthaler Erbgut

From the Beeb: Neanderthal genes 'survive in us'

I noticed a while back that every so often something turns up that rewrites the book on human evolution. Up till that point, scientists and journalists and scoffers at Creationism* will confidently assert some narrative as the sacred pronouncement of Science. After that point, the same people will confidently assert some significantly different narrative as the sacred pronouncement of Science. This latest news - that homo sapiens and Neanderthals were not actually different species, but interbred to the degree that we have Neanderthal genes in us** - is a pretty big development.

I don't have an issue with this, actually - well, not with the actual science. It's more the tone of ringing certainty with which the current state of the question gets pronounced. Human origins involve a lot of guesswork and suppositions, and what scientists think they know is pretty fragile; and if you work in these fields, you know that for yourself. But you might not always guess that from the tone of the reporting, unless you read carefully. (Given that I'm linking to them here, I should mention that the BBC isn't generally too bad here.)

[* Defenders of the critics of Creationism might reasonably reply that the tone of excessive certainty is a reaction to the sophistries and insanities of the Creationists. They wouldn't talk so stridently if not goaded by their enemies' constant dishonesty, folly and ignorance. I am sympathetic to this argument, as I have little respect for Creationism, although most Creationists I have known I respected as honest non-scientists. (When critics use "Creationism" to mean "ID" I have less sympathy, as I do not have a like or dislike for ID.)]

[** Although this is not entirely proven: see here. Genes occurring in both Neanderthals and non-African humans could mean that those humans interbred with Neanderthals. It could also be the case that these genes were once common to all humans but happened to disappear from the African gene-pool. The interbreeding theory looks strongest because the human groups with these genes are the ones who travelled through Neanderthal territory. If there's a correlation between the number of Neanderthal genes you have and whether your ancestors came into contact with Neanderthals, this could be coincidence, but it's pretty suggestive.]