[ad_1]
Washington, 1 Jul (PTI) Scientists have successfully cultivated pea-sized versions of Neanderthals' brains, a breakthrough that could help better understand the species that disappeared about 40,000 years ago.
Cultivate and study these mini brains reveal why Neanderthals have disappeared and Homo sapiens has continued to conquer much of the planet, the researchers said.
Genetic differences between Neanderthals and human brains may explain their demise and success, said Alysson Muotri, director of the University of California. Diego (UCSD) in the United States.
Muotri said that Neanderthals were fascinating because they shared the Earth with us, and now there is genetic evidence that we have actually reproduced with them. Muotri was quoted by "Live Science." The researchers compared the Neanderthal genome with that of modern humans.Of the 200 candidate genes that showed significant differences between the two species, the researchers decided to target a regulator of 39, gene expression called NOVA1.
NOVA1 is strongly expressed during neurodevelopment and linked to neurological disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, says Muotri.
Scientists have already grown mini human organs, known as organoids, in the lab.To cultivate the Neanderthal mini-brains, they used the gene editing tool known as CRISPR to "neanderthalize" stem cells human pluripotent, or immature cells that can grow in any cell of the body
The protocol of the house, "we have cajoled the cells hes to become a "brain organoid", a process that takes between six and eight months, said Muotri.
Growing, the Neanderoids are about 0.2 inches in size, "so you can actually see them with the naked eye once they're mature," he said. PTI MHN MHN
MHN
This is an unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India thread
[ad_2]Source link
