"Cell Stem Cell" human or non-human? The answer lies in junk DNA

Our DNA is very similar to chimpanzees.

From an evolutionary perspective, chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, and research shows that our kinship comes from a common ancestor

In a new study, stem cell researchers at Lund University examined what makes the brains of humans and chimpanzees different in our DNA-they have found the answer

"We did not study living people and chimpanzees, but used stem cells cultured in the laboratory

Using these stem cells, the researchers specifically cultivated human and chimpanzee brain cells and compared the two cell types

"The identification of different parts of our DNA is unexpected

Therefore, the new findings indicate that this difference seems to exist outside the protein-coding gene called "junk DNA

"This shows that the basis of human brain evolution is genetic mechanism, which may be more complicated than previously thought, because people think that the answer lies in the 2% of genetic DNA

The stem cell technology used by Lund researchers is revolutionary, making this type of research possible

Why do researchers want to investigate the differences between humans and chimpanzees?

"I believe that the brain is the key to understanding why humans are humans

Johan Jakobsson believes that in the future, these new discoveries may also help to answer genetic questions about mental illness, such as schizophrenia, a disease that seems to be unique to humans

"But there is still a long way to go before we reach this point, because we may now be forced to study all 100% of the coding DNA in depth instead of further research on 2% of the coding DNA-this is a Quite complex research task," he concluded

Cell Stem Cell

DOI

10.