New Scientist
Image: NCSSMphotos
It’s not what you’ve got but how you use it. The first maps of gene expression in two of our extinct cousins flag up important differences between the activity of their genes and our own. The results suggest that brain disorders like schizophrenia and autism may be unique to us.
The genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans are relatively similar to our own, although we know that Neanderthals had some distinctive features, including a barrel-shaped chest and proportionally shorter limbs. Perhaps that’s because these features were sculpted primarily by differences in the activity of genes during development rather than by differences in the genetic code.
Now Liran Carmel and his colleagues at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel have begun to investigate this possibility. They have created the first maps of gene activity in these extinct people, and compared them with modern humans. Read more on newscientist.com…
