A GENE active in humans today died out during our primate evolution and then came back to life again. This is first time such a resurrected gene has been seen.
The IRGM gene protects us from several diseases, including TB. When , at the University of Washington in Seattle, traced the gene back through our primate ancestry, he got a surprise. While mouse lemurs (pictured) have a functional copy of IRGM, Bekpen found that the macaque version is useless. But chimps and gorillas, like us, have a functional gene.
So the gene must have been extinguished after apes and…
