Ozzy Osbourne's Genome Reveals Some Neandertal...
5
8/7/2014 Ozzy Osbourne's Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ozzy-osbourne-genome/ 1/5 ADVERTISEMENT Sign In | Register 0 Search ScientificAmerican.com Subscription Center Subscribe to All Access » Subscribe to Print » Give a Gift » View the Latest Issue » WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/KAISERJNR More Science » Features Ozzy Osbourne's Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage What genetic oddities does rock's Prince of Darkness and beheader of bats have entangled deep in his genetic code? Knome, the company that analyzed Ozzy's full genome, divulges some of the details in a Q&A Oct 26, 2010 | By Katherine Harmon The one-time front man for heavy metal band Black Sabbath has joined the likes of DNA co-discoverer James Watson and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates on the short roster of people to have their full genome sequenced and analyzed. Ozzy Osbourne let a little blood to submit to the testing in July. Cofactor Genomics, a Saint Louis–based company, sequenced Osbourne's genome; Knome, Inc., which also helped raise money for the project, analyzed the data. For his part, Osbourne was at first skeptical about the project, he explained in his October 24 Sunday Times of London column. But the platinum-record artist then began to wonder if he, in fact, might have something to offer science. "I was curious," he wrote in his column. "Given the swimming pools of booze I've guzzled over the years—not to mention all of the cocaine, morphine, sleeping pills, cough syrup, LSD, Rohypnol…you name it—there's really no plausible medical reason why I should still be alive. Maybe my DNA could say why." But what can a bunch of genetic code tell us about someone's propensity to become the ordained "Godfather of Heavy Metal" or to bite the head off a live bat on stage? Scientific American spoke with Jorge Conde, co-founder and chief executive of Cambridge, Mass.–based Knome, and Nathan Pearson, the company's director of research, who had sat down with Ozzy earlier to go over the results of the analysis. 24 :: Email :: Print More from Scientific American ADVERTISEMENT More to Explore Head-bangers, beware of injury, rocker scientists warn Genome Sequencing for the Rest of Us Live Long and Proper: Genetic Factors Associated with Increased Longevity Identified Predisposition for Addiction Revolution Postponed: Why the Human Genome Project Has Been Disappointing Latest News Most Read Next Mars Rover Will Make Oxygen from CO2
Transcript of Ozzy Osbourne's Genome Reveals Some Neandertal...
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 15
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WIKIMEDIA COMMONSKAISERJNR
More Science raquo Features
Ozzy Osbournes Genome RevealsSome Neandertal LineageWhat genetic oddities does rocks Prince of Darkness and beheader of bats have entangled
deep in his genetic code Knome the company that analyzed Ozzys full genome divulges
some of the details in a QampA
Oct 26 2010 | By Katherine Harmon
The one-time front man for heavy metal
band Black Sabbath has joined the likes of
DNA co-discoverer James Watson and
Harvard University professor Henry Louis
Gates on the short roster of people to have
their full genome sequenced and analyzed
Ozzy Osbourne let a little blood to submit to
the testing in July Cofactor Genomics a
Saint Louisndashbased company sequenced
Osbournes genome Knome Inc which also
helped raise money for the project analyzed
the data
For his part Osbourne was at first skeptical
about the project he explained in his
October 24 Sunday Times of London column But the platinum-record artist then
began to wonder if he in fact might have something to offer science
I was curious he wrote in his column Given the swimming pools of booze Ive
guzzled over the yearsmdashnot to mention all of the cocaine morphine sleeping pills
cough syrup LSD Rohypnolhellipyou name itmdashtheres really no plausible medical reason
why I should still be alive Maybe my DNA could say why
But what can a bunch of genetic code tell us about someones propensity to become the
ordained Godfather of Heavy Metal or to bite the head off a live bat on stage
Scientific American spoke with Jorge Conde co-founder and chief executive of
Cambridge Massndashbased Knome and Nathan Pearson the companys director of
research who had sat down with Ozzy earlier to go over the results of the analysis
24 Email Print More from Scientific American
ADVERTISEMENT
More to Explore
Head-bangers beware of injury rocker
scientists warn
Genome Sequencing for the Rest of Us
Live Long and Proper Genetic Factors
Associated with Increased Longevity
Identified
Predisposition for Addiction
Revolution Postponed Why the Human
Genome Project Has Been Disappointing
Latest News Most Read
Next Mars Rover Will Make Oxygen from
CO2
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 25
Ozzy and his wife Sharon Osbourne will also relay some of the resultsmdashmore Down to
Earth than via OzzmosismdashFriday at the TEDMED 2010 meeting in San Diego
[An edited transcript of the interview follows]
Why did Ozzy want to have his genome sequenced
Jorge Conde The main question for Ozzy was Is there any information in there that
could explain Ozzy
I think he was curious about how he had managed to survive a pretty hard life in a lot
of ways So there were some questions around thatmdashhow substance use had affected
him and how he metabolized things He was also interested in specific health questions
mdashhe was diagnosed with a Parkinsons-like condition He was also very interested in
what we could tell him about his ancestry
Nathan Pearson He was really curious to know about his Parkinsons-like symptoms
so we looked pretty closely in his genome for that kind of stuff We found a few hints
but we couldnt tell him why he has symptoms like a tremor And frankly his history
of drug abuse probably contributed to that too
He asked us good questions about dopamine Many of the variants in his genome are
about how the brain processes dopamine
Is Ozzy the first rock star to have his full genome sequenced
Conde Yes as far as I know I can definitely tell you hes the first prince of darkness to
have his genome sequenced and analyzed
Can we see in his genome any traces of his legendary rock-and-roll
lifestylemdashor evidence of his bodys efforts to repair any damage
Conde We cannot find the Ozzy Osbourne gene But what we did see as one of our
scientists refers to it is a lot of interesting smokemdashbut not any specific fire We found
many variantsmdashnovel variantsmdashin genes associated with addiction and metabolism
that are interesting but not quite definitive
So can his genomes tell us anything about his ability to survive so many
years of hard partying
Pearson I talked with Ozzy and we looked at the genome with an eye toward the
nerves If you think about what makes Ozzy unusual its that hes a world-class
musician he has an addictive personality he has a tremor hes dyslexic he gets up
very early in the morning And many of these can be traced back to the nervous
system
One variant involves a gene that makes CLTCL1 which is a really interesting protein
When a cell takes in things from the outside membrane it pulls itself in like a basket to
pull things in It does this in all kinds of cells including nerve cells He has two copies of
an unusual variant that makes a grossly different version of the protein than most
people produce Heres a gene thats central to how nerve cells communicate with each
other so its curious to us to see a grossly different protein variant Its thought
provoking
We didnt find anything that can explain to you from point A to point B why Ozzy can
Follow Us
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Star Scientist Embroiled in Controversy
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Biopic Trailer Released
PsiVid | 4 hours ago
scicurious RT ope_bukola Amazingoppty for journos for women amp POC$60k paid fellowship in openjournalism Deadline 81 5 RT amp apply httptcoohellip2 hou rs ago middot reply middot retweet middot favorite
Brainy Acts RT phdcomics How ourbrains ev olv ed httptcoj6Py YWzf6Sw Brainy Acts3 hou rs ago middot reply middot retweet middot favorite
edbites Hallelujah the rain held off Theride was actually quite pleasant Nowdinner (which is in the slow cooker)3 hou rs ago middot reply middot retweet middot favorite
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 35
think up good songs or why he is so addicted to cocaine but we found some things that
would be interesting to follow up on
Such as
Pearson Alcohol dehydrogenase genes Theyre involved in breaking down alcohol
when you drink Ozzy has an unusual variant near one of his alcohol dehydrogenase
genes ADH4 that help regulate how much of the protein gets made Given his
troubles with alcohol in the past obviously we would like to clarify why his body
responds differently than other peoples
Did his genome show any predisposition for serious diseases
Pearson Hes a 61-year-old healthy guy and that speaks for itself That suggests hes
done okay in the genetic lottery
It also speaks to how early on we are in this field Genome-wide association studies are
notoriously weak in identifying variants that strongly determine our health They look
at variants that are common in the population Those are easy to look at but variants
dont get to be common in the population if theyre very harmful Its clear now that
you have to look alsomdashand especiallymdashat rare variants And like everyone Ozzy
carries several hundred thousand variants that have never been seen by scientists Its
going to be a while before we get enough data as a society to understand those
variants
Were there any big surprises hiding in his genome
Pearson For a long time we thought that Neandertals didnt have any descendents
today but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal
lineagemdashlike a drop in the bucket We found a little segment on Ozzys chromosome 10
that very likely traces back to a Neandertal forebearer
Ozzy of course was tickled to hear this But Knome founder George Churchs genome
has about three times as much Neandertal which we thought was funny
What has Ozzys response to the findings been so far
Pearson From what I can tell Ozzy was really very sincerely interested in this He is
really very engaged As I was leaving Ozzys home I was in the atriummdashand I think he
had thought I had already left for my cab but I could hear him say to his assistant [in
an Osbourne-like accent] That was really interesting
What can we learn from Ozzys genome
Pearson I think one lesson is understanding music Its a pretty interesting thing we
do at humansmdashthat some of us can synchronize to a beat that we like to sing songs
But we dont understand it well genetically so one of the open questions is well get a
better understanding of what makes a good musician what kinds of variants help us
keep a beat make a good tune I think looking ahead sequencing the genomes of more
musicians would be a good idea
If you could sequence any other celebrity genomes whose would you
choose
Pearson Ozzy suggested Keith Richards Our partners who did the sequencing
suggested we sequence Ozzie Smith the baseball player as a control Hes always been
a good teetotaler
Rights amp Permissions
Get Beer Off Oil ndash A visit with Hermit
Thrush Brewery [Happy Hour 4]
Food Matters | 12 hours ago
Vaquita Porpoise about to Go Extinct Only
97 Remain
Extinction Countdown | 15 hours ago
What will the future of education look like
Anthropology in Practice | 16 hours ago
What predicts NBA success
MIND Beautiful Minds | August 5 2014
News From Our Partners
US Should Lead on Climate Fight Say
African Negotiators
Star Scientist Embroiled in Controversy
Found Dead in Apparent Suicide
Cause of Mysterious Siberian Holes Possibly
Found
Which Ocean Species Will Outlast the Rising
Acidity of Seawater
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
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872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 45
Share this Article
Comments
Oldest - Newest
October 26 2010 807 PMSteveinOG
Dear Ms Harmon
Honestly Ozzys extraordinary career is due to his musical genius and his astonishingly original
showmanship What has that to do with a infinitesimal probably non-encoding raft of detritis in
the ocean of his DNA
Didnt you consider that what you and the headline are implying is simply absurd Come on this
is supposed to be SA
With all due respect
Steve
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 812 PMDolmance
All famous people have Neandertal lineage They also run the media and own all the banks
Were better than you And we never left Weve always been here and we always will be
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 939 PMJohn_Toradze
Hmm This needs a LOT more data
But behavior does not equal genetics To get a control go into the family history of alcohol and
drug use not just one guy
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1012 PMjtdwyer
This would make a very good article for The Rolling Stone not so much Scientific America
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1015 PMyrral86 John_Toradze
I volunteer my family Seriously send me some kits it will be the best thing many of them will
ever do for humanity
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1134 PMUngolythe
SteveinOG
I see no implication that Ozzys musical talent is somehow related to his Neanderthal lineage I see
where you are coming from however in that it may give people the wrong impression about his
lineage and what it means but those who may say aha Well that explains things may actually
learn something such as Pearson For a long time we thought that Neandertals didnt have any
descendents today but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal
lineagemdashlike a drop in the bucket and that Knomes founder has 3 times as much
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Samara State Aerospace University
More jobs from Naturejobscom raquo
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 55
YES Send me a free issue of Scientific
American with no obligation to continue
the subscription If I like it I will be billed
for the one-year subscriptionAdvertise
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Scientific American is a trademark of Scientific American Inc used with permission
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More Comments
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmericancom member to submit a comment
October 27 2010 806 AMJamesDavis
What about people who do not have any Neanderthal DNA in them and why dont they any
Neanderthal DNA in them Since it is claimed that we ALL came from the southern tip of Africa
have you done any testing for Neanderthal DNA in the people there and have you tested any
people in the Outback of Australia If there are more people in Africa and Australia with
Neanderthal DNA in them then where did the people with no Neanderthal DNA in them come
from
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 947 AMdbtinc
boy theres an unexpected revelation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1053 AMgrunt Dolmance
Are you suggesting Reincarnation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1112 AMAstorix
I am more and more interested in the linkage between Neanderthal and autism that many
scientists are exploring Another interesting linkage is Neanderthal and red haired people My
daughter is autistic and her grandmother and great grandmother both had red hair Neanderthal
kids grew up fast tended to be taller and stronger than modern humans Alex is already taller than
her classmates has size 7 shoes at age 9 She has a natural homing pigeon instinct never gets lost
remembers a place after being there once and is great with her hands Neanderthals were tool
makers and artists Look at the Neanderthal cave paintings Exquisite skill
You look at Ozzy Osborne and his musical skills and hmmm You do wonder eh
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Subscribe Now
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 25
Ozzy and his wife Sharon Osbourne will also relay some of the resultsmdashmore Down to
Earth than via OzzmosismdashFriday at the TEDMED 2010 meeting in San Diego
[An edited transcript of the interview follows]
Why did Ozzy want to have his genome sequenced
Jorge Conde The main question for Ozzy was Is there any information in there that
could explain Ozzy
I think he was curious about how he had managed to survive a pretty hard life in a lot
of ways So there were some questions around thatmdashhow substance use had affected
him and how he metabolized things He was also interested in specific health questions
mdashhe was diagnosed with a Parkinsons-like condition He was also very interested in
what we could tell him about his ancestry
Nathan Pearson He was really curious to know about his Parkinsons-like symptoms
so we looked pretty closely in his genome for that kind of stuff We found a few hints
but we couldnt tell him why he has symptoms like a tremor And frankly his history
of drug abuse probably contributed to that too
He asked us good questions about dopamine Many of the variants in his genome are
about how the brain processes dopamine
Is Ozzy the first rock star to have his full genome sequenced
Conde Yes as far as I know I can definitely tell you hes the first prince of darkness to
have his genome sequenced and analyzed
Can we see in his genome any traces of his legendary rock-and-roll
lifestylemdashor evidence of his bodys efforts to repair any damage
Conde We cannot find the Ozzy Osbourne gene But what we did see as one of our
scientists refers to it is a lot of interesting smokemdashbut not any specific fire We found
many variantsmdashnovel variantsmdashin genes associated with addiction and metabolism
that are interesting but not quite definitive
So can his genomes tell us anything about his ability to survive so many
years of hard partying
Pearson I talked with Ozzy and we looked at the genome with an eye toward the
nerves If you think about what makes Ozzy unusual its that hes a world-class
musician he has an addictive personality he has a tremor hes dyslexic he gets up
very early in the morning And many of these can be traced back to the nervous
system
One variant involves a gene that makes CLTCL1 which is a really interesting protein
When a cell takes in things from the outside membrane it pulls itself in like a basket to
pull things in It does this in all kinds of cells including nerve cells He has two copies of
an unusual variant that makes a grossly different version of the protein than most
people produce Heres a gene thats central to how nerve cells communicate with each
other so its curious to us to see a grossly different protein variant Its thought
provoking
We didnt find anything that can explain to you from point A to point B why Ozzy can
Follow Us
University Chemistry Labs Told to Improve
Safety
Star Scientist Embroiled in Controversy
Found Dead in Apparent Suicide
Humans Have Tripled Mercury Levels in the
Ocean
US Should Lead on Climate Fight Say
African Negotiators
More raquo
See what were tweeting about
Scientific American Contributors
Solve Innovation Challenges
Thomson Reuters Eikon Text Tagging
Challenge
Deadline Aug 26 2014 Reward See Detai ls
Investors are flooded every day by thousands ofnews items from many different sources ndash blogsfeeds internal reports news services ndash
More Challenges raquo
Powered By
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest from SA Blog Network
The Theory of Everything Stephen Hawking
Biopic Trailer Released
PsiVid | 4 hours ago
scicurious RT ope_bukola Amazingoppty for journos for women amp POC$60k paid fellowship in openjournalism Deadline 81 5 RT amp apply httptcoohellip2 hou rs ago middot reply middot retweet middot favorite
Brainy Acts RT phdcomics How ourbrains ev olv ed httptcoj6Py YWzf6Sw Brainy Acts3 hou rs ago middot reply middot retweet middot favorite
edbites Hallelujah the rain held off Theride was actually quite pleasant Nowdinner (which is in the slow cooker)3 hou rs ago middot reply middot retweet middot favorite
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 35
think up good songs or why he is so addicted to cocaine but we found some things that
would be interesting to follow up on
Such as
Pearson Alcohol dehydrogenase genes Theyre involved in breaking down alcohol
when you drink Ozzy has an unusual variant near one of his alcohol dehydrogenase
genes ADH4 that help regulate how much of the protein gets made Given his
troubles with alcohol in the past obviously we would like to clarify why his body
responds differently than other peoples
Did his genome show any predisposition for serious diseases
Pearson Hes a 61-year-old healthy guy and that speaks for itself That suggests hes
done okay in the genetic lottery
It also speaks to how early on we are in this field Genome-wide association studies are
notoriously weak in identifying variants that strongly determine our health They look
at variants that are common in the population Those are easy to look at but variants
dont get to be common in the population if theyre very harmful Its clear now that
you have to look alsomdashand especiallymdashat rare variants And like everyone Ozzy
carries several hundred thousand variants that have never been seen by scientists Its
going to be a while before we get enough data as a society to understand those
variants
Were there any big surprises hiding in his genome
Pearson For a long time we thought that Neandertals didnt have any descendents
today but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal
lineagemdashlike a drop in the bucket We found a little segment on Ozzys chromosome 10
that very likely traces back to a Neandertal forebearer
Ozzy of course was tickled to hear this But Knome founder George Churchs genome
has about three times as much Neandertal which we thought was funny
What has Ozzys response to the findings been so far
Pearson From what I can tell Ozzy was really very sincerely interested in this He is
really very engaged As I was leaving Ozzys home I was in the atriummdashand I think he
had thought I had already left for my cab but I could hear him say to his assistant [in
an Osbourne-like accent] That was really interesting
What can we learn from Ozzys genome
Pearson I think one lesson is understanding music Its a pretty interesting thing we
do at humansmdashthat some of us can synchronize to a beat that we like to sing songs
But we dont understand it well genetically so one of the open questions is well get a
better understanding of what makes a good musician what kinds of variants help us
keep a beat make a good tune I think looking ahead sequencing the genomes of more
musicians would be a good idea
If you could sequence any other celebrity genomes whose would you
choose
Pearson Ozzy suggested Keith Richards Our partners who did the sequencing
suggested we sequence Ozzie Smith the baseball player as a control Hes always been
a good teetotaler
Rights amp Permissions
Get Beer Off Oil ndash A visit with Hermit
Thrush Brewery [Happy Hour 4]
Food Matters | 12 hours ago
Vaquita Porpoise about to Go Extinct Only
97 Remain
Extinction Countdown | 15 hours ago
What will the future of education look like
Anthropology in Practice | 16 hours ago
What predicts NBA success
MIND Beautiful Minds | August 5 2014
News From Our Partners
US Should Lead on Climate Fight Say
African Negotiators
Star Scientist Embroiled in Controversy
Found Dead in Apparent Suicide
Cause of Mysterious Siberian Holes Possibly
Found
Which Ocean Species Will Outlast the Rising
Acidity of Seawater
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Science Jobs of the Week
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Samara State Aerospace University
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Samara State Aerospace University
Get Total Accessto our Digital
Anthology
1200 Articles
Order Now - Just $39 gt
X
Subscribe News amp Features Topics Blogs Videos amp Podcasts Education Citizen Science SA Magazine SA Mind Books
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 45
Share this Article
Comments
Oldest - Newest
October 26 2010 807 PMSteveinOG
Dear Ms Harmon
Honestly Ozzys extraordinary career is due to his musical genius and his astonishingly original
showmanship What has that to do with a infinitesimal probably non-encoding raft of detritis in
the ocean of his DNA
Didnt you consider that what you and the headline are implying is simply absurd Come on this
is supposed to be SA
With all due respect
Steve
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 812 PMDolmance
All famous people have Neandertal lineage They also run the media and own all the banks
Were better than you And we never left Weve always been here and we always will be
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 939 PMJohn_Toradze
Hmm This needs a LOT more data
But behavior does not equal genetics To get a control go into the family history of alcohol and
drug use not just one guy
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1012 PMjtdwyer
This would make a very good article for The Rolling Stone not so much Scientific America
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1015 PMyrral86 John_Toradze
I volunteer my family Seriously send me some kits it will be the best thing many of them will
ever do for humanity
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1134 PMUngolythe
SteveinOG
I see no implication that Ozzys musical talent is somehow related to his Neanderthal lineage I see
where you are coming from however in that it may give people the wrong impression about his
lineage and what it means but those who may say aha Well that explains things may actually
learn something such as Pearson For a long time we thought that Neandertals didnt have any
descendents today but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal
lineagemdashlike a drop in the bucket and that Knomes founder has 3 times as much
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Samara State Aerospace University
More jobs from Naturejobscom raquo
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 55
YES Send me a free issue of Scientific
American with no obligation to continue
the subscription If I like it I will be billed
for the one-year subscriptionAdvertise
Special Ad Sections
SA Custom Media andPartnerships
Science Jobs
Partner Network
International Editions
Travel
Use of Cookies
About Scientific American
Press Room
Site Map
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
Subscribe
Renew Your Print Subscription
Print Subscriber CustomerService
Buy Back Issues
FAQs
Scientific American is a trademark of Scientific American Inc used with permission
copy 2014 Scientific American a Division of Nature America Inc
All Rights Reserved
More Comments
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmericancom member to submit a comment
October 27 2010 806 AMJamesDavis
What about people who do not have any Neanderthal DNA in them and why dont they any
Neanderthal DNA in them Since it is claimed that we ALL came from the southern tip of Africa
have you done any testing for Neanderthal DNA in the people there and have you tested any
people in the Outback of Australia If there are more people in Africa and Australia with
Neanderthal DNA in them then where did the people with no Neanderthal DNA in them come
from
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 947 AMdbtinc
boy theres an unexpected revelation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1053 AMgrunt Dolmance
Are you suggesting Reincarnation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1112 AMAstorix
I am more and more interested in the linkage between Neanderthal and autism that many
scientists are exploring Another interesting linkage is Neanderthal and red haired people My
daughter is autistic and her grandmother and great grandmother both had red hair Neanderthal
kids grew up fast tended to be taller and stronger than modern humans Alex is already taller than
her classmates has size 7 shoes at age 9 She has a natural homing pigeon instinct never gets lost
remembers a place after being there once and is great with her hands Neanderthals were tool
makers and artists Look at the Neanderthal cave paintings Exquisite skill
You look at Ozzy Osborne and his musical skills and hmmm You do wonder eh
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Subscribe Now
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 35
think up good songs or why he is so addicted to cocaine but we found some things that
would be interesting to follow up on
Such as
Pearson Alcohol dehydrogenase genes Theyre involved in breaking down alcohol
when you drink Ozzy has an unusual variant near one of his alcohol dehydrogenase
genes ADH4 that help regulate how much of the protein gets made Given his
troubles with alcohol in the past obviously we would like to clarify why his body
responds differently than other peoples
Did his genome show any predisposition for serious diseases
Pearson Hes a 61-year-old healthy guy and that speaks for itself That suggests hes
done okay in the genetic lottery
It also speaks to how early on we are in this field Genome-wide association studies are
notoriously weak in identifying variants that strongly determine our health They look
at variants that are common in the population Those are easy to look at but variants
dont get to be common in the population if theyre very harmful Its clear now that
you have to look alsomdashand especiallymdashat rare variants And like everyone Ozzy
carries several hundred thousand variants that have never been seen by scientists Its
going to be a while before we get enough data as a society to understand those
variants
Were there any big surprises hiding in his genome
Pearson For a long time we thought that Neandertals didnt have any descendents
today but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal
lineagemdashlike a drop in the bucket We found a little segment on Ozzys chromosome 10
that very likely traces back to a Neandertal forebearer
Ozzy of course was tickled to hear this But Knome founder George Churchs genome
has about three times as much Neandertal which we thought was funny
What has Ozzys response to the findings been so far
Pearson From what I can tell Ozzy was really very sincerely interested in this He is
really very engaged As I was leaving Ozzys home I was in the atriummdashand I think he
had thought I had already left for my cab but I could hear him say to his assistant [in
an Osbourne-like accent] That was really interesting
What can we learn from Ozzys genome
Pearson I think one lesson is understanding music Its a pretty interesting thing we
do at humansmdashthat some of us can synchronize to a beat that we like to sing songs
But we dont understand it well genetically so one of the open questions is well get a
better understanding of what makes a good musician what kinds of variants help us
keep a beat make a good tune I think looking ahead sequencing the genomes of more
musicians would be a good idea
If you could sequence any other celebrity genomes whose would you
choose
Pearson Ozzy suggested Keith Richards Our partners who did the sequencing
suggested we sequence Ozzie Smith the baseball player as a control Hes always been
a good teetotaler
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872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 45
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Oldest - Newest
October 26 2010 807 PMSteveinOG
Dear Ms Harmon
Honestly Ozzys extraordinary career is due to his musical genius and his astonishingly original
showmanship What has that to do with a infinitesimal probably non-encoding raft of detritis in
the ocean of his DNA
Didnt you consider that what you and the headline are implying is simply absurd Come on this
is supposed to be SA
With all due respect
Steve
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 812 PMDolmance
All famous people have Neandertal lineage They also run the media and own all the banks
Were better than you And we never left Weve always been here and we always will be
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 939 PMJohn_Toradze
Hmm This needs a LOT more data
But behavior does not equal genetics To get a control go into the family history of alcohol and
drug use not just one guy
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1012 PMjtdwyer
This would make a very good article for The Rolling Stone not so much Scientific America
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1015 PMyrral86 John_Toradze
I volunteer my family Seriously send me some kits it will be the best thing many of them will
ever do for humanity
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1134 PMUngolythe
SteveinOG
I see no implication that Ozzys musical talent is somehow related to his Neanderthal lineage I see
where you are coming from however in that it may give people the wrong impression about his
lineage and what it means but those who may say aha Well that explains things may actually
learn something such as Pearson For a long time we thought that Neandertals didnt have any
descendents today but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal
lineagemdashlike a drop in the bucket and that Knomes founder has 3 times as much
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Samara State Aerospace University
More jobs from Naturejobscom raquo
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 55
YES Send me a free issue of Scientific
American with no obligation to continue
the subscription If I like it I will be billed
for the one-year subscriptionAdvertise
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Science Jobs
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Scientific American is a trademark of Scientific American Inc used with permission
copy 2014 Scientific American a Division of Nature America Inc
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More Comments
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmericancom member to submit a comment
October 27 2010 806 AMJamesDavis
What about people who do not have any Neanderthal DNA in them and why dont they any
Neanderthal DNA in them Since it is claimed that we ALL came from the southern tip of Africa
have you done any testing for Neanderthal DNA in the people there and have you tested any
people in the Outback of Australia If there are more people in Africa and Australia with
Neanderthal DNA in them then where did the people with no Neanderthal DNA in them come
from
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 947 AMdbtinc
boy theres an unexpected revelation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1053 AMgrunt Dolmance
Are you suggesting Reincarnation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1112 AMAstorix
I am more and more interested in the linkage between Neanderthal and autism that many
scientists are exploring Another interesting linkage is Neanderthal and red haired people My
daughter is autistic and her grandmother and great grandmother both had red hair Neanderthal
kids grew up fast tended to be taller and stronger than modern humans Alex is already taller than
her classmates has size 7 shoes at age 9 She has a natural homing pigeon instinct never gets lost
remembers a place after being there once and is great with her hands Neanderthals were tool
makers and artists Look at the Neanderthal cave paintings Exquisite skill
You look at Ozzy Osborne and his musical skills and hmmm You do wonder eh
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Subscribe Now
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 45
Share this Article
Comments
Oldest - Newest
October 26 2010 807 PMSteveinOG
Dear Ms Harmon
Honestly Ozzys extraordinary career is due to his musical genius and his astonishingly original
showmanship What has that to do with a infinitesimal probably non-encoding raft of detritis in
the ocean of his DNA
Didnt you consider that what you and the headline are implying is simply absurd Come on this
is supposed to be SA
With all due respect
Steve
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 812 PMDolmance
All famous people have Neandertal lineage They also run the media and own all the banks
Were better than you And we never left Weve always been here and we always will be
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 939 PMJohn_Toradze
Hmm This needs a LOT more data
But behavior does not equal genetics To get a control go into the family history of alcohol and
drug use not just one guy
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1012 PMjtdwyer
This would make a very good article for The Rolling Stone not so much Scientific America
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1015 PMyrral86 John_Toradze
I volunteer my family Seriously send me some kits it will be the best thing many of them will
ever do for humanity
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 26 2010 1134 PMUngolythe
SteveinOG
I see no implication that Ozzys musical talent is somehow related to his Neanderthal lineage I see
where you are coming from however in that it may give people the wrong impression about his
lineage and what it means but those who may say aha Well that explains things may actually
learn something such as Pearson For a long time we thought that Neandertals didnt have any
descendents today but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal
lineagemdashlike a drop in the bucket and that Knomes founder has 3 times as much
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Samara State Aerospace University
More jobs from Naturejobscom raquo
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 55
YES Send me a free issue of Scientific
American with no obligation to continue
the subscription If I like it I will be billed
for the one-year subscriptionAdvertise
Special Ad Sections
SA Custom Media andPartnerships
Science Jobs
Partner Network
International Editions
Travel
Use of Cookies
About Scientific American
Press Room
Site Map
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
Subscribe
Renew Your Print Subscription
Print Subscriber CustomerService
Buy Back Issues
FAQs
Scientific American is a trademark of Scientific American Inc used with permission
copy 2014 Scientific American a Division of Nature America Inc
All Rights Reserved
More Comments
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmericancom member to submit a comment
October 27 2010 806 AMJamesDavis
What about people who do not have any Neanderthal DNA in them and why dont they any
Neanderthal DNA in them Since it is claimed that we ALL came from the southern tip of Africa
have you done any testing for Neanderthal DNA in the people there and have you tested any
people in the Outback of Australia If there are more people in Africa and Australia with
Neanderthal DNA in them then where did the people with no Neanderthal DNA in them come
from
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 947 AMdbtinc
boy theres an unexpected revelation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1053 AMgrunt Dolmance
Are you suggesting Reincarnation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1112 AMAstorix
I am more and more interested in the linkage between Neanderthal and autism that many
scientists are exploring Another interesting linkage is Neanderthal and red haired people My
daughter is autistic and her grandmother and great grandmother both had red hair Neanderthal
kids grew up fast tended to be taller and stronger than modern humans Alex is already taller than
her classmates has size 7 shoes at age 9 She has a natural homing pigeon instinct never gets lost
remembers a place after being there once and is great with her hands Neanderthals were tool
makers and artists Look at the Neanderthal cave paintings Exquisite skill
You look at Ozzy Osborne and his musical skills and hmmm You do wonder eh
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Subscribe Now
872014 Ozzy Osbournes Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage - Scientific American
httpwwwscientificamericancomarticleozzy-osbourne-genome 55
YES Send me a free issue of Scientific
American with no obligation to continue
the subscription If I like it I will be billed
for the one-year subscriptionAdvertise
Special Ad Sections
SA Custom Media andPartnerships
Science Jobs
Partner Network
International Editions
Travel
Use of Cookies
About Scientific American
Press Room
Site Map
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
Subscribe
Renew Your Print Subscription
Print Subscriber CustomerService
Buy Back Issues
FAQs
Scientific American is a trademark of Scientific American Inc used with permission
copy 2014 Scientific American a Division of Nature America Inc
All Rights Reserved
More Comments
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmericancom member to submit a comment
October 27 2010 806 AMJamesDavis
What about people who do not have any Neanderthal DNA in them and why dont they any
Neanderthal DNA in them Since it is claimed that we ALL came from the southern tip of Africa
have you done any testing for Neanderthal DNA in the people there and have you tested any
people in the Outback of Australia If there are more people in Africa and Australia with
Neanderthal DNA in them then where did the people with no Neanderthal DNA in them come
from
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 947 AMdbtinc
boy theres an unexpected revelation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1053 AMgrunt Dolmance
Are you suggesting Reincarnation
Report as Abuse | Link to This
October 27 2010 1112 AMAstorix
I am more and more interested in the linkage between Neanderthal and autism that many
scientists are exploring Another interesting linkage is Neanderthal and red haired people My
daughter is autistic and her grandmother and great grandmother both had red hair Neanderthal
kids grew up fast tended to be taller and stronger than modern humans Alex is already taller than
her classmates has size 7 shoes at age 9 She has a natural homing pigeon instinct never gets lost
remembers a place after being there once and is great with her hands Neanderthals were tool
makers and artists Look at the Neanderthal cave paintings Exquisite skill
You look at Ozzy Osborne and his musical skills and hmmm You do wonder eh
Report as Abuse | Link to This
Subscribe Now
