Study Reveals Supposed Reason People Suffer From Nut Allergies And Hay Fever

Apparently, it's because our very early ancestors couldn't stay away when they first discovered Neanderthals.

Neanderthals were a species of human which became extinct around 40,000 years ago. They were closely related to modern human having DNA over 99.5% the same.

According to new research, the human-neanderthal encounters of 40,000 years ago are a crucial factor in causing our allergies today.

The Guardian has reported that these encounters, otherwise known as 'prehistoric couplings', mean non-Africans now carry between one and six per cent Neanderthal DNA.

A US genetics company called 23andme says a group of humans who left Africa to explore met and mated with Neanderthals and Denisovans, who had spent 200,000 years adapting to diseases and viruses in Eurasia.

Inter-breeding accelerated the humans' ability to resist pathogens and illnesses, but it came at a cost.

23andme's Janet Kelso, who worked on the study, said, "Interbreeding with archaic humans does indeed have functional implications for modern humans. The most obvious consequences have been in shaping our adaptation to our environment - improving how we resist pathogens and metabolise novel foods."

So while the Neanderthals gave us three genes that boost the immune system, they also gave us allergies causing us to sneeze, itch and react to various environmental factors.

Source.