Time to give thanks for your genome: A new study finds that at some point in our evolutionary history, humans lost a stretch of DNA that would have otherwise promoted the growth of spines on the penis.
The genetic loss is just one of millions that separates us from our closest primate relative, the chimpanzee, researchers report in the March 10 issue of the journal Nature. The team also reported the disappearance of a growth-suppressing genetic switch. That loss may have contributed to the enlargement of the human brain.
Many studies have emphasized the similarities between humans and chimpanzees; we share 96 percent of our genomes, according to a 2005 study published in Nature. But that still leaves millions of genetic differences that explain the discrepancies between us and our primate cousins.
"The biggest question is, 'What is the molecular biology of becoming human?'" study co-author David Kingsley, a developmental biologist at Stanford Universit told LiveScience.
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