Human migration into Europe may have brought Neanderthals' demise

The slow and steady migration of humans from Africa into Europe was enough to kill off the existing Neanderthal population there, according to a new study in Nature Communications.

Why it matters: "For decades, modern human scientists assumed there must have been something wrong with the Neanderthals — or something right with us — that led to their extinction," the Washington Post reports. But researchers found that although natural selection may have had a role in the survival of modern humans, Neanderthals would have gone extinct regardless. "It's a subtle distinction but it's important," scientist Oren Kolodny told the Post.