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In a controversial study, Chinese scientists inserted a gene involved in the development of the human brain in the genome of monkeys.
After inserting the gene, the team of scientists then performed tests on the monkeys to see if their brain functioned better in cognitive tasks than a control group composed of similar monkeys.
Out of 11 rhesus monkeys, five lived long enough for their cognitive abilities to be tested in later experiments.
According to the study, transgenic monkeys performed better on memory tests and reaction time tests than the group unmodified by the gene.
The study was published in the journal National Science Review, detailing the insertion of the human gene MCPH1 in rhesus monkeys.
In one test, where monkeys had to remember the color and shape of a stimulus on a screen, the result turned out to be positive.
The team wrote:
Remarkably, our preliminary cognitive test detected an improvement in short-term memory in the [transgenic] monkeys.
Although the size of the monkey brains did not differ from that of their counterparts in the control group, their development was longer. The study suggested that neuronal development and myelination of the monkey, in which membranes grow around nerve fibers to accelerate the transmission of nerve impulses, have been delayed in a similar process to that of the human brain.
The researchers added:
An essential difference between humans and non-human primates is that humans need much more time to shape their neuro-networks during development, which greatly increases childhood, that is, neoteny. "
However, the research – which was conducted by the Kunming Zoology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in partnership with US scientists from the University of North Carolina – has been described as a controversial ethic by other scientists.
Jacqueline Glover, bioethicist at the University of Colorado, said IFLScience
The first ethical question is whether this research is scientific enough to justify the use of animals. Are the research methods capable of answering the questions posed by the scientists – otherwise, this is the first difficult stop.
The second question concerns the opportunity to use particular monkeys. Can this research be done with alternatives that do not pose a risk to non-human primates? Jim Sikela, a colleague at the University of Colorado, pointed out that there are available organoids (that is, cells that are modified in culture) from humans and chimpanzees that mimic many molecular characteristics. brain cells.
Groups put human genes into chimpanzee brain oganoids as an alternative to using live primates to obtain information on the functioning of genes in the human brain.
Others, however, were less worried. Larry Baum, a researcher at the Center for Genomic Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, said Review of MIT technology "The genome of rhesus monkeys differs from ours by a few percent – that is, millions of individual DNA bases differing between humans and monkeys."
Since the study only modified a small number of genes in thousands, Larry added, "You can decide for yourself whether to worry."
The team that conducted the research is confident that their findings can "provide important – and potentially unique – information on fundamental questions about what makes human beings truly unique".
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Charlie Cocksedge
Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist at UNILAD. He earned a Master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester, where he learned to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in places such as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.
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