Archaic DNA Skews Polygenic Scores

Comparing high‑coverage Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes to modern references and to introgressed tracts in present‑day people, the author finds that surviving archaic fragments contribute systematically to polygenic scores: strongly lower scores for educational‑attainment proxies but higher scores for height, with mixed results for extraversion. The deviation from a proportional (neutral) expectation implies post‑admixture sorting — via drift, selection, or linkage — made the archaic contribution nonrandom. — If introgressed archaic DNA is systematically enriched or depleted for alleles linked to traits of social salience, that changes how scientists and the public should interpret genetic differences between groups and informs debates about the social uses (and misuses) of polygenic scores.