News
One genetic change 3 million years ago made our brains big — and won us the world
By Alexandru Micu, ZME Science
Two research teams have uncovered the gene family that allowed us to evolve our impressively large brainsCompared to other organisms on the planet, our globs of gray matter are unusually big.
Meet NOTCH2NL, the human-specific genes that may have given us our big brains
By David Haussler & Pierre Vanderhaeghen, Cell Press
Two teams of researchers have identified a human-specific gene family, NOTCH2NL, that emerged first in our primate ancestors as a partial duplication of the neurodevelopmental gene NOTCH2. The genes were later repaired and made functional by a gene conversion in humans.
Study Shows Genes Unique to Humans Tied to Bigger Brains
By Dr. Francis Collins, NIH
In seeking the biological answer to the question of what it means to be human, the brain’s cerebral cortex is a good place to start. This densely folded, outer layer of grey matter, which is vastly larger in Homo sapiens than in other primates, plays an essential role in human consciousness, language, and reasoning.
New Genetic Clues to the Mystery of Your Giant Brain
Compared to gorillas and orangutans, our brains are 3X as big. Brain size is likely a big part of what makes us human. UC Santa Cruz and UCSF scientists recently made an important discovery shedding light on how we got big brains.