Big brain evolution: our special gene is identified (Evolution)

by David Turell , Monday, June 28, 2021, 18:10 (1242 days ago) @ David Turell
edited by David Turell, Monday, June 28, 2021, 18:20

Old Comment: I don't believe it is luck/chance that we have this gene. Why not coded by God?

A new comment:

https://mindmatters.ai/2021/06/do-larger-brains-make-us-human-is-that-all/

"In a study of “mini-brains” (brain organoids), the size of a pea, grown in a dish and incapable of further development, researchers have discovered a “key genetic switch” that makes human brains grow three times larger than primate brains:

"This new research, published in the journal Cell, used brain organoids to show that this transition occurs more slowly in humans compared to gorillas and chimpanzees – over seven days, compared to five.

"The progenitor cells in human brain organoids not only retained their cylindrical shape for longer, but also split more frequently so more cells were produced. This was linked to a gene called ZEB2, which switches on sooner in gorilla brain organoids than in human. By delaying the effects of the gene, the researchers found that gorilla brain organoids develop slower and become larger…

“'We have found that a delayed change in the shape of cells in the early brain is enough to change the course of development, helping determine the numbers of neurons that are made,” explains [Madeline] Lancaster. “It’s remarkable that a relatively simple evolutionary change in cell shape could have major consequences in brain evolution.”

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"But what have we learned? Is larger brains really what makes us human? Then what about the people who function normally with a very reduced brain? Remember, they are functioning normally in a world where humans typically have very large brains. And, before medical imaging, no one knew that these people had hardly any brain.

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"...in the 1990s, anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggested that humans might also need large brains to keep track of their complicated social lives. Human social circles normally comprise around 150 people, compared with 50 for chimpanzees. “Why are human brains so big?” at Science Focus

"The problem with this explanation is that music, art, stories, and complex social relationships are only important in a group that can appreciate them. The audience must already be human. Science Focus infers that large brains are needed but their origin is unaccounted for. The organoids might provide a clue but they are hardly a natural development.

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"Human intelligence is unique among the life forms we know. It is reasonable to believe that some of the causes are immaterial rather than material. Especially when materialist explanations keep bringing us back to where we started. The good news is that discovering new vistas promises to be a great adventure."

Comment: one gene appears to make our brain. Again, God at work? And the other issue is folks with almost no brain are normal humans with consciousness. Why? Again God at work His favorite created/evolved organisms?