US EditionResearchers Discover Brain Chemistry Difference Between Humans and Neanderthals
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, AUG 5 – An amino acid change in the ADSL gene, present in 97% of modern humans, likely contributed to evolutionary advantages over Neanderthals and Denisovans, researchers found.
- On Monday, an international team of researchers published in PNAS that a version of a gene, ubiquitous in humans today, is absent in Neanderthals and Denisovans.
- This rationale stems from evidence that human evolution hinged on subtle brain biochemical changes after diverging from Neanderthals about half a million years ago, prompting researchers to consider whether a less severe ADSL gene substitution conferred advantages.
- In vitro tests showed that the modern ADSL enzyme has a valine at position 429, making it less stable than the ancestral alanine variant.
- In behavioral tests, mice carrying the human variant exhibited improved water-seeking behavior, suggesting that reduced enzyme activity helped them better compete for scarce resources.
- This study hints that a 'tiny brain chemistry tweak' may have been the 'secret weapon' giving Homo sapiens an edge over Neanderthals, offering an intriguing evolutionary clue.
Insights by Ground AI
Does this summary seem wrong?
12 Articles
12 Articles
Anchorage Daily News+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
One gene reveals clues to why humans thrived and Neanderthals didn’t
Humans and Neanderthals were virtually identical at the genetic level. Scientists are probing the differences to understand why we are here and they aren’t.
·Anchorage, United States
Read Full Article
Subtle genetic shifts in brain enzyme offer clues to human evolution
The evolutionary success of our species may have hinged on minute changes to our brain biochemistry after we diverged from the lineage leading to Neanderthals and Denisovans about half a million years ago.
·United States
Read Full Article
Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left5Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Left
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources lean Left
45% Left
L 45%
C 36%
R 18%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
