(Press-News.org) Research from scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have shed new light on an age-old question: what makes the human brain unique?
The team’s discovery comes from their investigation of human-accelerated regions (HARs) — sections of the human genome that have accumulated an unusually high level of mutations as humans have evolved. There is a lot of scientific interest in HARs, as they are hypothesized to play an essential role in conferring human-specific traits, and also have links to neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism.
One reason why scientists think that HARs confer human-specific traits is because they have undergone rapid changes in their genetic sequences since we split from our closest living relative—the chimpanzee—approximately 5 million years ago.
Now, UC San Diego researchers have identified one particular HAR—called HAR123—that appears to be instrumental in shaping the human brain.
The researchers found:
HAR123 itself is not a gene, but is instead a type of molecular “volume control" known as a transcriptional enhancer. Transcriptional enhancers control which genes are activated, how much they are activated, and at what times they are activated during an organism’s development.
Through its role as a transcriptional enhancer, HAR123 promotes the development of neural progenitor cells, the cells that give rise to the two main types of brain cells — neurons and glial cells.
HAR123 also influences the ratio of neurons and glial cells that form from neural progenitor cells.
Ultimately, HAR123 promotes a particularly advanced human trait called cognitive flexibility, or the ability to unlearn and replace previous knowledge.
In addition to providing new insights into the biology of the human brain, the results also offer a molecular explanation for some of the radical changes that have occurred in the human brain over the course of our evolution. This is supported, for example, by the authors’ finding that the human version of HAR123 exerts different molecular and cellular effects than the chimpanzee version in both stem cells and neuron precursor cells in a petri dish.
Further research is needed to more fully understand the molecular action of HAR123 and whether the human version of HAR123 does indeed confer human-specific neural traits. This line of research could lead us to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying many neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism.
The study, published online in Science Advances, was led by Miles Wilkinson, Ph.D., distinguished professor, and Kun Tan, Ph.D., assistant professor, both within the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Wilkinson is also affiliate faculty of the UC San Diego Institute for Genomic Medicine. The study was funded, in part, by grants from the National Institutes of Health and 10x Genomics. The authors declare no competing interests.
# # #
END
Research Alert: A genetic twist that sets humans apart
2025-08-13
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Arctic reindeer populations could decline by 80 per cent by 2100
2025-08-13
Researchers predict that future climatic change is likely to cause declines in reindeer abundances and their distribution at rates rarely seen over the last 21,000 years.
Reindeer, also known as caribou in North America, are an Ice Age species that have survived many episodes of Arctic warming. They are uniquely adapted to Arctic environments, where they regulate ecosystems and sustain the livelihoods of many Indigenous Peoples.
Despite being one of the most abundant herbivores in the Arctic, climate change has contributed to a loss of nearly two-thirds of their global abundance over the last three decades.
An international team of researchers, led by the University of ...
Cornell researchers explore alternatives to harmful insecticide
2025-08-13
ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell University research offers a number of alternatives to neonicotinoids (neonics) that might work for farmers who grow large-seeded vegetable crops such as snap bean, dry bean and sweet corn. This class of insecticides has devastating ecological impacts, especially to pollinators, beneficial insects and aquatic invertebrates.
“We wanted to find other options for growers to protect their vegetable crops from major pests. The impetus was to identify new products including those in the registration pipeline,” said Brian Nault, professor of entomology. “My program ...
Fermentation method transforms unripe fruits into specialty coffees
2025-08-13
In the selection of specialty coffees, those that score above 80 points in blind tests are free of physical and sensory defects. Greenish-colored beans are known to give the drink an astringent taste, which is described as harsh, pungent, and dry. These beans are therefore discarded, along with broken, black, burnt, pitted, or undersized beans.
However, in a study published in the journal Food and Bioprocess Technology, researchers from the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) in Patos de Minas (state of Minas Gerais, Brazil) conducted a series of fermentations with ripe and ...
Oncology, primary care coordination necessary for best cancer patient outcomes
2025-08-13
Thanks to new advances in cancer care, more and more people are surviving cancer, with a projected total of 22.5 million survivors by 2032. The need for proper cancer survivorship care grows with each new case of remission, but according to new research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, primary care could fill that need, given enough support.
Cancer survivorship care is complex, particularly after primary treatment has ended. Standard care addresses side effects from the treatment, encourages healthy lifestyle habits, discusses the patient's mental health, monitors cancer recurrence and screens for new cancers.
“Previous ...
Breakthrough discovery sparks new hope for breathing recovery after spinal cord injuries
2025-08-13
Today about 300,000 people nationally living with a spinal cord injury and with respiratory complications being the most common cause of illness and death, according to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
But the results of a new study, led by researchers at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, show promise that a group of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord—called interneurons—can boost breathing when the body faces certain physiological challenges, such as exercise and environmental conditions associated with altitude.
The researchers believe their discovery could ...
Can officials say what they need to say about a health emergency in 280 characters?
2025-08-13
Public health officials had an unprecedented tool for near-instant, widespread communication during the COVID-19 pandemic and mpox epidemic: social media.
Now, one of the first studies of its kind, led by a health policy expert with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, has found that X (Twitter at the time of the events) brought advantages — as well as disadvantages — in getting the word out.
“For the year that the COVID-19 pandemic and mpox outbreak overlapped, we wanted to understand how health authorities in Chicago used X: the nature of the posts, what information was shared, how it was presented to the public and how all of that ...
United for answers: leading ALS organizations announce ‘Champion Insights’ to unlock why athletes and military members face higher ALS risk
2025-08-13
NEW ORLEANS, August 13, 2025 — Answer ALS, in collaboration with ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) and Augie’s Quest, today announced plans to launch Champion Insights, an ambitious research initiative designed to uncover critical genetic and metabolic mechanisms that may explain the significantly higher incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among endurance athletes, military service members, and potentially other high-performing populations.
ALS is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with no cure, affecting more than 5,000 Americans annually, and ...
Up to $5.2 million in federal funds will enable WashU to develop new biomanufacturing capabilities
2025-08-13
By Leah Shaffer
The process of biomanufacturing requires engineering microbes to produce useful chemicals and materials from carbon neutral processes. But current biomanufacturing cannot get beyond small production scale unless it can outcompete big oil.
The petrochemical industry produces chemicals and material building blocks at a low cost because these processes can run nonstop. However, performing microbial biomanufacturing continuously faces numerous challenges and presents a significant hurdle for economically viable bioproduction.
At the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, researchers are ...
AI-informed approach to CAR design enhances bi-specific CAR T cells
2025-08-13
(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – August 13, 2025) A computational approach by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists promises to make designing T cell-based immunotherapies that target two cancer-related antigens at the same time far easier and faster. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are a type of immunotherapy that reprograms a patient’s immune cells to target a tumor-specific protein antigen. Targeting just one cell surface antigen often is not enough to eradicate the tumor. Thus, scientists ...
Discovery confirms early species of hominins co-existed in Ethiopia
2025-08-13
While we know much of the story of how humans evolved, the puzzle is still missing critical pieces. For example, fossil evidence for human evolution between 2 and 3 million years ago is patchy. It’s frustrating because we know that the branch of the hominin family tree that includes humans, or Homo sapiens, appears in the fossil record for the first time in this period.
Today, Homo sapiens (which anthropologists shorten to Homo), is the only hominin species alive. But in the past, Homo wasn’t alone. We coexisted and competed with other branches of the human family tree. Research ...