Throwaway DNA make all the difference (Image: Michael Nichols/NGS)
Editorial: “We are the children of the lost DNA“
ONE of the most fundamental questions of our existence – how our genes make us different from chimpanzees and other animals – comes tantalisingly close to being answered this week by a ground-breaking study of DNA we lost along the way.
It demonstrates experimentally for the first time how specific differences between our DNA and that shared by our nearest relatives can account for traits that make us uniquely human. Crucially, it provides insight into how genetic changes helped us evolve our most prized…
