One random mutation decided about our intelligence and world domination
Few of us realize how much our species owes to blind evolution. Were it not for a single gene that is not found in other primates, people could still dream of inventing stone tools.
As far as they could dream.
A team of scientists from Japan and Germany, led by Wieland Huttner from the Max Planck Institute, genetically modified marmosets by implanting the human ARHGAP11B gene . You will ask why?
Secrets of the ARHGAP11B gene
To this day, we don’t know exactly what our brain evolution looked like. Scientists have several interesting theories on this subject, but none of them has been 100 percent confirmed so far. We are quite sure about the division of the cerebral cortex into the old cortex (paleocortex), in which our emotions and instincts nest, and the new cortex (neocortex), responsible for our cognitive impressions and senses.
This second type of cortex is the youngest part of our brain and in comparison to the brain structure of other primates it occurs in us about three times the size. It is in the new cortex that scientists see fertile soil that has contributed to the development of our intelligence to such an extent that we managed to conquer Earth and become the dominant species.
Nowadays, more and more scientists claim that this art would be impossible without the ARHGAP11B gene appearing in humans. It is responsible for the growth of the new bark in people. Following this line of reasoning – the more the bark, the greater its ability to process thought processes, so as it expanded and folded, our ancestors began to understand more and more things. Probably.
To prove this relationship, ARHGAP11B was implanted in marmosets.
Marmosets are small, sweet, wide-ape monkeys, belonging to the subfamily of claws and, from a genetic point of view, our distant relatives. What happened after implanting our gene from cortical enlargement? What everybody expected. The monkey cortex has grown to a much greater extent than in the unmodified control group.
Of course, scientists did not check whether, thanks to this modification, the monkeys suddenly understood more. For ethical reasons, the research was conducted on monkey fetuses. That made sense, given that primate organisms thrive at the fastest pace after delivery.
Key random mutation
The appearance of the ARHGAP11B gene, as it happens during evolution, was pure coincidence. Scientists estimate that this mutation took place about 5 million years ago, somewhere along the path of Neanderthal evolution to today’s homo-sapiens.
This gene is an absolutely unique mutation that occurs only in our species and, according to scientists, its appearance had a rapid impact on our development. We now know 100 percent that this gene is responsible for the growth of the new cerebral cortex.
The question is how directly this translates into our intelligence, and if so, whether further genetic modifications to our code are possible in such a way that we become even a little smarter. Would be nice.
One random mutation decided about our intelligence and world domination
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