HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Lifestyle accounts for difference in chimp, human genome

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Nearly 99 percent alike in genetic makeup, chimpanzees and humans might be even more similar were it not for what researchers call "lifestyle" changes in the 6 million years that separate us from a common ancestor. Specifically, two key differences are how humans and chimps perceive smells and what we eat.

A massive gene-comparison project involving two Cornell University scientists, and reported in the latest issue of the journal Science (Dec. 12, 2003), found these and many other differences in a search for evidence of accelerated evolution and positive selection in the genetic history of humans and chimps.

In the most comprehensive comparison to date of the genetic differences between two primates, the genomic analysts found evidence of positive selection in genes involved in olfaction, or the ability to sense and process information about odors. "Human and chimpanzee sequences are so similar, we were not sure that this kind of analysis would be informative," says evolutionary geneticist Andrew G. Clark, Cornell professor of molecular biology and genetics. "But we found hundreds of genes showing a pattern of sequence change consistent with adaptive evolution occurring in human ancestors." Those genes are involved in the sense of smell, in digestion, in long-bone growth, in hairiness and in hearing. "It is a treasure-trove of ideas to test by more careful comparison of human and chimpanzee development and physiology," Clark says.

The DNA sequencing of the chimpanzee was performed by Celera Genomics, in Rockville, Md., as part of a larger study of human variation headed by company researchers Michele Cargill and Mark Adams.

Celera generated some 18 million DNA sequence "reads," or about two-thirds as many as were required for the first sequencing of the human genome. Statistical modeling and computation was done by Clark and by Rasmus Nielsen, a Cornell assistant professor of biological statistics and computational biolo
'"/>

Contact: Roger Segelken
hrs2@cornell.edu
607-255-9736
Cornell University News Service
18-Dec-2003


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Why some animals have smaller eyes: Lifestyle matters
2. Lifestyle changes clinically effective
3. Lifestyle factors fuel high diabetes risk in African-American women
4. Gene Influences How Lifestyle Affects Blood Cholesterol
5. Lifestyle Determinants Of Plasma Homocysteine
6. Colon Cancer Linked To Genes, Not Lifestyle
7. Genetic differences might help distinguish thyroid cancers
8. Study explains spatial orientation differences between sexes
9. Social benefits of wound healing may not make any difference in animals with multiple partners
10. Carnegie Mellon U. imaging study reveals sex-based differences that persist as mice enter adulthood
11. Sex-specific differences in gene expression related to drug metabolism and hypertension

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Lifestyle accounts for difference chimp human genome

(Date:5/23/2013)... , Automated conserved noncoding sequence (CNS) ... among grasses , Within the genome of each ... undergo little change in position and sequence over millions ... Some of these evolutionarily stable sequences, so-called conserved noncoding ... other genes or the condensation of chromosomes, but the ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... said to be the world,s most popular fruit, can ... research with purple GM varieties. , "Working with ... by the addition of a specific compound, allows us ... said Professor Cathie Martin from the John Innes Centre. ... with better flavour, health and shelf life characteristics because ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... RICHLAND, Wash. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory honored ... and commercialization of intellectual property at PNNL,s annual ... , The Department of Energy national laboratory ... Year for his work developing battery materials that ... to the electrical grid, and reduce the time ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Frontiers news briefs: May 23 2Frontiers news briefs: May 23 3The world's favorite fruit only better-tasting and longer-lasting 2PNNL staff recognized for scientific accomplishments, moving technologies into the marketplace 2
(Date:5/23/2013)... Mich. Every day, their baby stopped breathing, his ... his lungs. April and Bryan Gionfriddo watched helplessly, just ... "Quite a few doctors said he had a good ... Gionfriddo, about her now 20-month-old son, Kaiba. "At that ... would take it and run with it." , They ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... ROCK, Colo. , May 23, 2013 ... diagnostic company focused on obtaining FDA clearance and ... , today announced the pricing of an underwritten public ... related warrants to purchase 3,500,000 shares of its common ... at a combined public offering price of $1.25 per ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... N.Y. , May 23, 2013  BioScrip, Inc. ... Company will present at the Jefferies 2013 Global Healthcare ... Grand Hyatt New York. Richard ... Hai Tran , Chief Financial Officer, ... a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.   About BioScrip ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... May 23, 2013 Can economic incentives ... work motivate members of the public to increase their ... Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Assistant Professor ... Pointing to a large body of recent research that ... May 24, 2013, issue of Science that the World ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing 2Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing 3Venaxis Announces Pricing of Offering of Common Stock and Warrants 2Venaxis Announces Pricing of Offering of Common Stock and Warrants 3Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 2Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 3
Cached News: