A simple genetic mutation increased the number of neurons present in our cerebral cortex, and in particular in its front part, where complex cognitive operations take place, according to a study by German researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, published in Science . This tiny genetic change was discovered by comparing our genome sequence to that of Neanderthals, the closest human species to us, which went extinct less than 40,000 years ago.
Among the hundreds of proteins that differed from Neanderthals, an enzyme called TKTL1 caught the researchers’ attention. Its strong presence in fetal cells of the origin of cortical neurons suggested an important role in the latter’s development. In addition, TKTL1 is also found in some cancer cells, which are also capable of proliferating heavily.
To test its exact role, Wieland Hutner’s team introduced the human TKTL1 gene…
Source: Le Figaro
