Science potentially finds reason for powerful human brain

[cybrsage]

A copyediting error appears to be responsible for critical features of the human brain that distinguish us from our closest primate kin, new research finds.

When tested out in mice, researchers found this "error" caused the rodents' brain cells to move into place faster and enabled more connections between brain cells.

The researchers studied one specific gene, called SRGAP2, which they think has been duplicated at least twice during the course of human evolution, first about 3.5 million years ago and then again about 2.5 million years ago.

When the researchers added the partially duplicated gene copy to the mouse genome (mice don’t normally have it) it seemed to speed the migration of brain cells during development, which makes brain organization more efficient.

Interestingly, the incomplete copy of the gene seems to have showed up just as the extinct hominin Australopithecus made room for the genus Homo, which led to modern humans. That's also when the brains of our ancestors began to expand and when dramatic changes in cognitive abilities are likely to have emerged.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012...uild-man-brain/?intcmp=features#ixzz1uBf8YRn0

Interesting that it happened twice in humanity and never in any of the other species...or if it did, it was not important enough of a change to allow the carrier to survive.

 

[PokerGuy]

That's interesting stuff.

Countdown to some idiot coming in and making this into some dumb political argument ..... 5....4.....3....2....

 

[cybrsage]

I wonder if they have calculated the odds of the same error happening twice. While it is obvious it did, I am curious.

 

[CLite]

To think that 6 Billion plus humans and countless ancestors owe their life experiences to the fact that a humanoid baby with a mutation defied the odds and lived to maturity and passed this mutation down to it's children, which gave them an advantage over their peers.

What's potentially more interesting is how many times this kind of mutation occurred but was never passed down to children because of premature death.

 

[cybrsage]

That would be interesting to find out, how common is this mutation.

 

[blankslate]

or if it did, it was not important enough of a change to allow the carrier to survive.

Maybe it happened in dolphins (and maybe other cetaceans) only a water environment discouraged the development of appendages able to use tools and made the "discovery" of fire problematic.

Anyway an interesting article about dolphins.
http://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphins-smarter-brain-function.html

MRI scans performed on dolphins provides evidence that they may be (almost) as self aware as humans.

It's particularly interesting to me because although chimpanzees are the common animal in sci-fi movies that are given "human" intelligence by scientists mucking around with nature, there is an excellent sci-fi novel "Startide Rising" by David Brin which features genetically modified dolphins as well as primates although the results aren't as disastrous as Planet of the Apes.

 

[Moonbeam]

That would be interesting to find out, how common is this mutation.

Didn't the article say approximately 30 times in the last 6 million years with this particular one happening twice?

 

[GoPackGo]

Let's be sure these scientists don't try smarten up any Apes or Chimps or Monkeys

 

[GoPackGo]

I wonder if the mutation was passed down to other generations of the mice who both had the mutation and also to other generations of mice who had one mutated parent and one non-mutated?

 

[cybrsage]

Didn't the article say approximately 30 times in the last 6 million years with this particular one happening twice?

Twice in humanity, I was curious about other species as well.

 

[Jaskalas]

So when do human trials begin? :whiste:

 

[Moonbeam]

Twice in humanity, I was curious about other species as well.

Lynch and Conery estimated that gene duplication arises
(and is fixed in populations) at an approximate rate of 1
gene21100millionyears(MY)21 ineukaryotessuchasHomo
sapiens, Mus musculus, D. melanogaster, Caenorhabditis
elegans,Arabidopsis thalianaandSaccharomyces cerevisiae
[9].This rate is comparabletothat ofnucleotidesubstitution,
which is 0.1–0.5 site21 100MY21 in nuclear genomes of
vertebrates

Interesting, that did not copy correctly.....

Informative discussion on rates etc here:

http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/5/887.full

 

[cybrsage]

Thanks for the link.

 

[WHAMPOM]

That's interesting stuff.

Countdown to some idiot coming in and making this into some dumb political argument ..... 5....4.....3....2....

What!! No alien intervention?

 

[cybrsage]

Interesting info on genome duplication:

We estimate that the probability of extinction was reduced by a factor of at least 5.5 in the lineages following the fish-specific genome duplication.

http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/5/887.full

Anyone know if this duplication is what allowed humanity to survive the almost extinction event (massive drought) we faced (when there were only a few thousand humans alive).

 

[1prophet]

What!! No alien intervention?

Here you go, all the alien intervention and then some

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDLmqfAZ2C0

 

[Ricochet]

I wonder if the mutation was passed down to other generations of the mice who both had the mutation and also to other generations of mice who had one mutated parent and one non-mutated?

The Secret of NIMH?

 

[Infohawk]

This is an exaggerated headline. This just suggests WHEN human intelligence might have taken off. The reason for human intelligence, or HOW it works, is not really understood at all. Hopefully it will be within our lifetimes.

 

[CycloWizard]

I for one welcome our new genetically enhanced rodent overlords.

 

[bfdd]

Bet they find something similar in Baboons soon. Baboons imo seem much closer to us than Chimps in the way we act.

 

[Howard]

I wonder if we are all happier for this to have happened.

 

[cybrsage]

Since the choice is scrounging for food in a predator filled wild or scrounging for food in my refrigerator, I will say we are all happier for this to have happened.

 

[Screech]

Since the choice is scrounging for food in a predator filled wild or scrounging for beer in my refrigerator, I will say we are all happier for this to have happened.

Fixed

jk, But I do hope we can actually understand the reasons behind 'intelligence' within our lifetimes, as Infohawk said. The brain certainly is fascinating.

 

[her209]

I for one welcome our new genetically enhanced rodent overlords.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[cybrsage]

Fixed

jk, But I do hope we can actually understand the reasons behind 'intelligence' within our lifetimes, as Infohawk said. The brain certainly is fascinating.

The fix works just as well as the original, maybe even better.