Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

How we got our big brains — missing genetic information and a stroke of luck

We are starting to better understand exactly what makes us human

Fermin Koop by Fermin Koop
May 8, 2023
in Anthropology, News
Edited and reviewed by Mihai Andrei

It’s not what we have, but what we don’t have. A team of researchers from the US has found that the human genome lacks some key aspects compared with the genomes of other primates. According to their new study, this could have played an equally important role in the development of human beings. In other words, what we lost from our genome may be just as important as the genetic additions that occurred during our evolutionary history.

depiction of a human and chimp genetic differences
Image credits: Michael Helfenbein.

The study fills a big gap in what’s known about changes to the human genome. Over time, scientists have been able to identify unique additions to the human genome, including a gene that played a crucial role in the development of human speech. However, much less attention has been given to what’s absent from the genome.

“Often we think new biological functions must require new pieces of DNA, but this work shows us that deleting genetic code can result in profound consequences for traits make us unique as a species,” Steven Reilly, an assistant professor of genetics at Yale School of Medicine and senior author of the paper, said in a statement.

Looking into the human genome

It’s been two decades since the initial rough draft of the human genome, consisting of three billion genetic letters of DNA coiled up inside the majority of our cells, was compiled by scientists. Despite this lengthy period, researchers are still facing challenges in deciphering it. Now, a new research endeavor aims to tackle some of these issues.

Researchers at Yale and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard looked at primate DNA and found the loss of about 10,000 bits of genetic information over our evolutionary history differentiates humans from chimpanzees – our closest primate relative. Some of these bits relate to genes involved in neuronal and cognitive functions, the team said.

However, certain genetic deletions didn’t interfere with human biology, the researchers said. Instead, they produced novel genetic codes that removed elements that typically suppress gene expression. Reilly compares this process to removing three characters — “n’t” — from the word “isn’t” to create a new word, “is.”

The researchers used a technology known as Massively Parallel Reporter Assays. It enables the screening and measurement of the function of genetic changes across various species. According to Reilly, this tool can help in identifying the multiple molecular small components that contribute to our distinctiveness as a species.

The study was one of several published by the Zoonomia Project, a research partnership that catalogs the diversity in genomes by comparing DNA sequences from 240 species of mammals that exist today. One of the papers, for example, focused on how we can use DNA information to predict which species are more likely to face extinction.

Altogether, the database from the Zoonomia Project is actually a starting point to better understand what makes us human. “We are identifying segments unchanged across all species, as well as segments changed in just a few, and discovering both the genomic basis of traits essential for all animals,” the researchers wrote on the project’s website.

The study was published in the journal Science.

Was this helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Related posts:
  1. Stephen Hawking’s final paper suggests black holes store information about missing matter in ‘soft hairs’
  2. Missing link finally found! Beer’s missing link that is
  3. Chemical switch found in Alzheimer’s and stroke victims’ brains kills neurons
  4. Pakistan airline sacrificed a goat in its airport to get rid of bad luck
  5. Synthetic DNA and RNA that mimics chemistry of life can encode genetic information and evolve
Tags: dna

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW