Genes tied to recent brain evolution
By Bruce Bower
Two genes already known to influence brain size have undergone relatively recent, survival-enhancing modifications in people and appear to be still evolving, a research team reports.
Specific variants of these genes have spread quickly by natural selection, say Bruce T. Lahn of the University of Chicago and his colleagues, who published separate reports on each gene in the Sept. 9 Science.
The researchers examined DNA from 1,186 adults representing 59 populations worldwide and determined the frequency of specific variants of the two genes called microcephalin and ASPM.