At the center of growth and skeletal development lies the hypothalamic-pituitary-somatotropic (HPS) axis, a biological communication line where growth hormone (GH) plays the starring role. Ancient DNA reveals the first Neanderthal familyTheir focus: the growth hormone receptor (GHR). Neanderthal growth hormone receptor (GHR) carried two amino acid changes and one deletion. When researchers expressed this Neanderthal receptor in a GH-dependent cell line, something remarkable happened. In other words, the Neanderthal receptor supercharged growth when triggered by pituitary GH, a key signal for skeletal and muscle development.