Chimpanzees win in evolution

2007/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Eboluzioa
• Genetika
• Zoologia

A study by the University of Michigan reveals that the chimpanzee genome has undergone more changes than human, that is, it has evolved more since 6-7 million years ago the two species were separated.

14,000 genes encoding proteins in both species have been compared for genes selected by natural selection. And they have seen that natural selection has chosen 154 genes in humans and 233 in chimpanzees.

This data has disrupted the perception of many that humans have undergone more genetic changes than the rest of the animals to dominate the world. But that doesn't have to be that way. What characterizes the human being of the rest of the animals is its large brain size and its associated intelligence. However, it is very difficult to know which gene caused this change in brain size. Sometimes small genetic changes are more biologically important than changes in many genes, although it may actually seem the opposite.