In “What makes a modern human” (Nature, 3 May 2012), Chris Stringer notes (in a polite way), that racists are beginning to make use of research into ancient human genomes:
Already I’m reading blogs that speculate about whether some groups are less ‘modern’ than others, and I fear that such discussions endanger the considerable progress promised by palaeogenetic research. So to highlight these issues and steer the debate in a positive direction, I would like to assert that the term modern humans, by definition, equally describes all humans living today. Some of us may have more DNA from archaic populations than others, but the great majority of our genes, morphology and behaviour derives from our common African heritage. And what unites us should take precedence over that which distinguishes us from each other.
Stringer still wants to keep the “separate human species” idea. It would make more sense to just dump the lot, but ….
(You have to pay to read his article.)