Sunday, December 9, 2018

What sets us apart from Primates

What sets us apart from primates? Well Dr. Adam O’Neill, carries out this research at university of Otago. The most significant genetic difference Dr. O’Neill stated was the expression of the gene PLEKHG6, a gene that specializes in growth and proliferation of cells. Humans have acquired this ‘recently’ creating their exceptional brains.
This study was carried out using ‘mini brains’ that were grown through cultures in a Petri dish to study the gene. 
The expression of this gene separates humans from different species because it effects brain size and development. 
More about the gene

1 comment:

  1. I found this very interesting because the same gene expressed differently can have major differences in the way the organism behaves, comparing specifically humans to primates you can see the huge gap in behavior.

    ReplyDelete