I was excited to read about this today in the Wall Street Journal. I think this is very exciting and I am eager to see the results. However, this comment from one of the researchers really bothered me:
"The Neanderthal will be like modern humans in most ways, but more like a chimpanzee in others," said Svante Pbo, the Max Planck geneticist who will head the effort.
This makes absolutely no sense whatsover. The only thing I can figure is that he (she?) assumes that Neanderthals are an ancestor of modern humans as are chimpanzees. I would be incredibly surprised if they have DNA resembling chimpanzees any more than we do (both Homo sapiens and H. neanderthalensis as sibling species should be equidistant from a the last common ancestor we both share with chimpanzees). I guess as long as the sequencing is accurate someone else can do the interpretations!
Doctor Bashir: "Of all the stories you told me, which were true and which weren't?"
Elim Garak: "My dear Doctor, they're all true"
Doctor Bashir: "Even the lies?"
Elim Garak: "Especially the lies"
™ Version 4.2