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Covid-19: the Neanderthal gene that makes you suffer

A study has shown that people who have a certain gene inherited from Neanderthals are more likely to suffer severe forms of Covid-19. Scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany have found that after one's age, possessing the gene is the biggest risk factor for coronavirus. There's a far greater likelihood of hospitalisation and being placed on a ventilator, as geneticist Svante Paabo explains.

(Picture: Covid-19 patient, 2020. Credit: EPA)

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4 minutes