Redheads 'could be from Neanderthals'

LONDON -- Red hair may be the genetic legacy of Neanderthals, according to a new study by British scientists.

Researchers at the John Radcliffe Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford were quoted by The Times yesterday as saying the "ginger gene" which gives people red hair, fair skin and freckles could be up to 100000 years old.

They claim their discovery points to the gene having originated in Neanderthal man who lived in Europe for 200000 years before Homo sapiens settlers arrived from Africa about 40000 years ago.

Research team leader Rosalind Harding, said: "The gene is certainly older than 50000 years and it could be as old as 100000 years.

"An explanation is that it comes from Neanderthals." -- Sapa-DPA