Enzyme linked with brain evolution
Show notes
Implications of a mutation in modern humans
Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.
In this episode, Xiangchun Ju and Svante Pääbo explore the evolutionary implications of a mutation that separates modern humans from ancestral hominins.
In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] •[01:22] Neurobiologist Xiangchun Ju introduces the enzyme adenylosuccinate lyase, or ADSL, and its role in the synthesis of purine. •[02:09] Evolutionary anthropologist Svante Pääbo talks about the discovery of the A429V mutation, which is present in modern humans but not Neanderthals or Denisovans. •[03:38] Ju and Pääbo talk about the methods to humanize mice in order to study the evolutionary importance of the A429V mutation. •[05:04] They explain the results of the behavioral studies of the humanized mice. •[06:27] Pääbo explores the takeaways from the study. •[08:05] He contextualizes the study alongside other studies of modern human development. •[09:17] Pääbo and Ju list the caveats and limitations of the study. •[10:14] Conclusion.
About Our Guests:
Xiangchun Ju Postdoctoral scholar Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
Svante Pääbo Director Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2508540122
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