Chinese scientists have implanted genes of the human brain in monkeys

Chinese scientists have implanted genes essential to the development of the human brain in macaques, an experiment that, according to its authors, has helped to better understand the evolution of human intelligence. The gene chosen by the researchers is the MCPH1, which according to scientists are involved in the development of the human brain.

One of the five monkeys that were implanted with genes from the human brain and survived

The eleven monkeys to which this gene has been implanted have shown best results in short-term memory tests with block colors and frames as well as reaction time in comparison with wild monkeys. However, their brains needed more time to develop, as happens with human children.

"It was the first attempt to understand the evolution of human cognition with the help of a transgenic monkey model," said Bing Su, the geneticist of the 39, Institute of Zoology Kunming, who led the study.

Scientists did not find that the brains of these monkeys grew larger than that of their counterparts in a control group.

The human being has the largest brain of all primates. "Brain size and cognitive abilities are the traits that have changed most dramatically in humans during evolution, but the genetic mechanisms underlying these man-made changes remain difficult to explain, "says the study.

The news has already provoked an ethical debate within the international scientific community, disturbed by the direction taken by experimentation in Chinese laboratories.

"Our results have shown that non-human transgenic primates (…) have the potential to provide important insights into (…) what makes human beings unique," said the study conducted by the & # 39; 39, Kunming Institute of Zoology. Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from the University of North Carolina.

The study was published last month in the National Journal of Science Chinese and only five monkeys survived the tests.

Primate research is becoming increasingly difficult in Europe and the United States, but China is eager to apply the latest DNA technology to animals, often ignoring warnings. concerning the ethical dilemmas involved.

Several scientists, including one who collaborated in the study, felt that the experiments were imprudent and questioned the ethical aspects of developing genetically modified primates.

"The use of transgenic monkeys to study human genes related to the evolution of the brain is a very risky pathway," said James Sikela, a geneticist who conducts comparative studies on primates at the same time. University of Colorado, fearing that this experience would be indifferent. towards animals and soon lead to more extreme changes. "It's a clbadic slippery slope problem and we can expect that kind of research to be done," he told the US magazine. Review of MIT technology.

"For the general public, all this reminds us immediately Planet of the Apes"criticized Jacqueline Glover, bioethics expert at the University of Colorado." Humanizes them [a los monos] It hurts them. Where could they live and what would they do? We do not believe an animal that can not have a busy life in any context, "asked this expert.

But Larry Baum, a researcher at the Center for Genome Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, compares science fiction with unfounded. "This study has barely changed a handful of genes," he said. "Let everyone draw their conclusions to know if there is cause for concern," he added.

With regard to the evolution of human intelligence, we know that the brains of our ancestors resembling human beings grew rapidly in size and power. To find the genes at the origin of the change, the scientists looked for differences between humans and the chimpanzee, whose genes are 98% like ours. Sikela said that the goal was to locate "the jewels of our genome", that is, the DNA that makes us exclusively human.

For example, the FOXP2 gene, called the "gene of the tongue," has become famous for its possible link with human speech. A British family whose members inherited an abnormal version had trouble speaking. Scientists in Tokyo and Berlin developed gene mutations in mice to listen to them with ultrasound microphones and see if their howls had changed.

(With information from AFP and the Review of MIT technology)