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LiveScience
LiveScience
Amy Arthur

Endurance athletes that carry Neanderthal genes could be held back from reaching their peak

Runners jumping off the starting line for a race.

Scientists have uncovered a genetic variant, inherited from Neanderthals, that may limit athletic performance.

The mutation is thought to affect roughly 8% of modern-day Europeans and influences the activity of a key enzyme in the production of energy in skeletal muscle.

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