CNN —Head lice have been constant, if unwanted, human companions for as long as our species has been around. Some 20 years ago, David Reed, a coauthor of the new study and a researcher and curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, found that human head lice are composed of two ancient lineages, with origins predating Homo sapiens. Doing so allowed researchers to detect the hybrid lice and better capture the genetic diversity of head lice. Ascunce said she had hoped the information they gleaned might answer whether Neanderthal head lice are still around today, but the 15 genetic markers, known as “microsatellites,” that they studied in the lice nuclear DNA didn’t reveal that information. “New ongoing studies are being done using whole genome sequences from human lice, so stay tuned for more exciting research on that.”

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Persons: ”, Marina Ascunce, Jeff Gage, Ascunce, It’s, David Reed, sapiens, “ Organizations: CNN, US Department of Agriculture, Plos, Florida Museum, University of Florida Locations: Brazil, Africa, Americas