Slashdot Mirror
Ape-Human DNA Split
M. Boss writes "CNN is running a story about a gene split between humans and the apes. This is the second major DNA article regarding human evolution published in the last month (the first being about the FOXP2 gene, possibly responsible for human speech and comprehension). This second story is about a gene missing in humans that is responsible for production of a sugar acid, and possibly human brain expansion."
Probably the major role for sialic acid is to control how cells interact with each other. For instance, the ability of Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM) to allow cells to specifically communicate and attach to each other depends on how much sialic acid is added to the NCAM - more sialic acid makes NCAM less sticky and vice versa. Controlling whether cells stick together or not helps determine tissue organization. This is part of the interest in the gene concerning apes vs. humans, since a relatively small change in sugar metabolism might have a large effect on brain development and function.