The article presents a draft sequence of the Neandertal genome, composed of over 4 billion nucleotides from three individuals. Comparisons with the genomes of five present-day humans from different regions reveal genomic regions that may have been affected by positive selection in ancestral modern humans, including genes involved in metabolism and cognitive and skeletal development. The study shows that Neandertals shared more genetic variants with present-day humans in Eurasia than with those in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that gene flow from Neandertals into the ancestors of non-Africans occurred before the divergence of Eurasian groups. The authors also identify features unique to the human genome, such as regulatory substitutions and segmental duplications, and detect regions of positive selection in early modern humans. They conclude that Neandertals and modern humans diverged between 270,000 and 440,000 years ago, and that Neandertals are closer to non-Africans than to Africans, indicating gene flow from Neandertals into the ancestors of non-Africans.The article presents a draft sequence of the Neandertal genome, composed of over 4 billion nucleotides from three individuals. Comparisons with the genomes of five present-day humans from different regions reveal genomic regions that may have been affected by positive selection in ancestral modern humans, including genes involved in metabolism and cognitive and skeletal development. The study shows that Neandertals shared more genetic variants with present-day humans in Eurasia than with those in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that gene flow from Neandertals into the ancestors of non-Africans occurred before the divergence of Eurasian groups. The authors also identify features unique to the human genome, such as regulatory substitutions and segmental duplications, and detect regions of positive selection in early modern humans. They conclude that Neandertals and modern humans diverged between 270,000 and 440,000 years ago, and that Neandertals are closer to non-Africans than to Africans, indicating gene flow from Neandertals into the ancestors of non-Africans.