Darwin, Bioinformatics, and the Brain
The human brain far outstrips that of its closest primate and mammalian relatives in both size and sophistication. Now new research suggests that the human brain developed as a result of frenetic genetic evolution, unique to humans. Lead investigator Bruce Lahn, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of Chicago, says his study "offers the first genetic evidence that humans occupy a unique position in the tree of life."