According to the New York Post reported on November 19 local time, in an experiment similar to the "planet of the apes", scientists doubled the size of the monkey's brain by splicing the monkey's brain with human genes.
During the study, researchers in Japan and Germany injected a gene called ARAHGAP11B into the dark matter of the velvet monkey fetus, according to a press release about the study. ARHGAP11B can guide stem cells in the human brain.
Based on the study, published in the journal Science in June, they found that primate brains quickly become more human-like by developing a larger, higher-class neocortex — regions that control cognition and language.
According to images released by the researchers, the size of the brains of the perfected monkeys nearly doubled around 100 days of pregnancy.
Michael Hyde, author of the study, said: "We did find that the cerebral cortex of the average velvet monkey brain expanded and the brain surface folded. ”
The researchers say the new cerebral cortex is the latest evolutionary part of the brain, a sign that ArHGAP11B may have led to brain growth during human evolution.
Ultimately, according to the press release, the scientists opted for aborted monkey embryos due to "unforeseen consequences."
The study, conducted jointly by the Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany and the Central Institute for Laboratory Animals in Japan, is reminiscent of the 2011 film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, in which a group of genetically modified primates began to turn against humans and take over The Earth.
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