What does it mean to be human? According to scientists, the key lies, ultimately, in the billions of lines of genetic code that comprise the human genome. The problem, however, has been deciphering that code. But now, researchers at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered how the activation of specific stretches of DNA control the development of uniquely human characteristics—and tell an intriguing story about the evolution of our species.
In the latest issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, researchers in the laboratory of Katherine Pollard, use the latest sequencing and bioinformatics tools to find genomic regions that guide the development of human-specific characteristics. These results offer new clues as to how the activation of similar stretches of DNA—shared between two species—can sometimes result in vastly different outcomes.
Read the full, original story here: Fast-mutating DNA sequences shape early development
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