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Humans' Big Brains Linked To a Small Stretch of DNA
A new study (abstract) described in the L.A. Times suggests that "just 10 differences on one particular strand of human DNA lying near a brain-development gene could have been instrumental in the explosive growth in the human neocortex."
The DNA region, containing just 1,200 base pairs, is not a gene. But it lies near one that is known to affect early development of the human neocortex, according to the study, published online Thursday in Current Biology. Researchers showed that the region, known as HARE5, acts as an enhancer of the gene FZD8. Embryos of mice altered with human HARE5 developed significantly larger brains and more neurons compared with embryos carrying the chimp version, according to the study.
Facebook , whatsapp .. HARE5 is certainly mutating .. some of the recent human DNA will make mice with smaller heads .. The world is going to be dumb eventually ..The dumb people make more babies .. The smart ones are still workin on that thesis they have to finish.
next time on Pinky & the Brain...
If we learned anything from The Hitchhiker's Guide, it is that the mice are the supreme species on earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...
What's the point of injecting inferior genes into their brains?
On a more serious note, it will probably be a long time before genetic science can safely determine the source of intelligence or any way to manipulate it. And a long time beyond that to overcome social and legal impediments to using the knowledge in any practical way. Expect to be just as dumb as you are for the rest of your life.
...omphaloskepsis often...
Then why doesn't someone make these 10 changes to a chimp egg and sperm and see what happens?
Planet of apes : rise of the funky monkey (3D)
....
In cinemas this season
But if it was evolution alone, other species would have it too
You assume that bigger brains offer a net benefit to other species. The problem is that large brains consume a large amount of energy. If the extra intelligence doesn't help to acquire extra food, the bigger brain is not a asset. Also, acquiring food is only part of the equation. Animals must also be able to actually eat and digest it. An animal like a cow already spends every waking moment on eating and digesting. Even if bigger brain could help it find more grass, there's still not enough time to actually process enough of it.
Apparently, this enlargement is not sufficient to prevent dup in /.
Video of some good progressive thrash music
Intelligence can do far more than gather food more effectively. Less intelligent critters are plenty good at that as well. Early proto-humans probably had some other advantages, such as the ability to adapt to changing conditions, or to create tools useful for weapons or defense, all thanks to bigger brains. Intelligence is really the ultimate utility trait, because it allows for better adaptation that might cause other animals to simply die out. Look at how successfully early humans survived all over the globe, in almost every climate, even without dramatic physical alterations - only minor differences, such as eye shape, skin pigmentation, etc.
That being said, the other advantage we have is the evolutionary path that allowed us better use of those big brains, such as the ability to walk upright and opposable thumbs on very dexterous hands. As such, we can more easily shape the world to our advantage through sophisticated tools. Without the proper bodies to manipulate the world around them, intelligence would do a creature far less good. Improved intelligence may have been tried before, but it may not have been worth the increased nutritional demands without the correct body to take advantage of it.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
Don't feed the trolls. Especially the cray-cray trolls.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Intelligence can do far more than gather food more effectively. Less intelligent critters are plenty good at that as well
The point is that they need to "pay" for their bigger brain by eating more food. And for a creature with a small body, it means a a lot more food. So, it doesn't matter what nice things intelligence can do for a creature, if it can't afford the energy for it.
So they're breeding mice with the genes of a human brain? As Kramer said in that episode, there is a secret plan for pig men, or rather rat men.
Yes, there's a theory that humans cooking their food was a big enabler for their bigger brains, because the cooking process makes it a lot easier to digest the food and absorb more of the nutrients in a short time. But the ability to cook the food depends on a lot more than being intelligent. You also need the body that allows manipulation of tools so you can carry the fire wood, start a fire and control it, and carry the food to the fire. That's something that our bipedal humanoid ancestors could do well, but most other animals would not be able to pull off, even if they were a little bit smarter.
I was thinking more about people who have a natural aptitude for logic, critical thought, and independent study, but hard knocks often come into the picture too.
In the end it's about judging people on their merits, not their background or some rubber-stamped credentials.
But if it was evolution alone, other species would have it too.
Evolutionary innovations don't work like that. There's a species that's first. It might not keep the monopoly for long, but humans haven't been around for long.
The experiment ended one morning when the HARES mouse cage was found empty, with a note neatly printed in Comic Sans:
As socially enlightened rodents we have decided to quit this stupid study and accept Salon's offer of a columnist position, which we will fill cooperatively.
Yours in solidarity,
-Algie