Several
"brainy" genes that were duplicated in a tiny sea creature nearly 550
million years ago may have led to the massive expansion in intelligence in
vertebrate species, two new studies have found.
The
studies, published today (Dec. 2) in the journal Nature Neuroscience, suggest
this duplication of certain genes spurred an explosion in the number of chemicals
that regulate brain function in vertebrates (animals with backbones), thereby
leading togreater
intelligence, the research suggests.
"This
genome event produced a kind of cognitive big bang; it produced a large set of
interesting behavior," said study co-author Seth Grant, a neuroscientist
at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. "It produced a
molecular toolbox, which in the case of the brain, produced many, many more
proteins that you find in the synapses, the junctions between nerve
cells."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!