RealFeedApp Human and chimpanzee DNA differ by only 1.2 percent
A study found that the PTERV1 virus, which infected chimpanzees 4 million years ago, introduced a DNA mutation affecting brain development. Humans and chimpanzees differ by only 1.2 percent in their DNA.
- Field
- the brain and neuroscience
- What they did
- Researchers discovered that an ancient retrovirus, which infected chimpanzees about 4 million years ago, introduced a mutation into their DNA that affected brain development.
- Why it matters
- This helps explain why chimpanzees and humans, despite having similar genes, develop very different types of brains.
#retrovirus#genomics#brain development#evolution#dna mutation
