Revisit a story that uncovers new insights into human evolution through research of Neanderthal mating preferences.
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August 7, 2026
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To close out this week’s coverage of lasting legacies, we return to a story that highlights new insights into human evolution. An analysis of Neanderthal and modern human genomes by geneticist Sarah Tishkoff and colleagues suggests that long-standing mating preferences, rather than genetic incompatibility, shaped which Neanderthal DNA sequences persisted in modern humans and which were gradually lost.
The team’s findings reveal the role of social interactions in sculpting the human genome, which may help explain why modern humans have so little Neanderthal DNA on their X chromosomes. Beyond uncovering prehistoric mating preferences, their study also challenges the idea that human evolution was driven solely by survival of the fittest.
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From ancient attraction and plant flowering strategies to men’s sexual and reproductive health, Penn researchers explore evolution from many perspectives, including in the arts and at the molecular level in plants, cells, and even humans. Visit the Penn Today website for more stories on lasting legacies.
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 FORTUNE
“We shouldn’t assume all customer interactions with people are 100% what we’d like them to be—or that replacing them automatically improves the experience,” says Jerry Jacobs of the Wharton School.
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AUG. 10-15
The culmination of the 2026 Penn LDI Summer Undergraduate Mentored Research Program, this symposium will spotlight the participating scholars and their faculty mentors, featuring presentations about their mentor-directed research work. Free and open to the public.
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