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Originally published   by NYU Langone Health, on February 28, 2024  Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like monkeys, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine . Published online February 28 as the cover story of the journal Nature , the work compared the DNA of tail-less apes and humans to that of tailed monkeys , and found an insertion of DNA shared by apes and humans , but missing in monkeys . When the research team engineered a series of mice to examine whether the insertion, in a gene called TBXT , affected their tails, they found a variety of tail effects , including some mice born without tails. "Our study begins to explain how evolution removed our tails , a question that has intrigued me since I was young," says corresponding study author Bo Xia, Ph.D., a student at the time of the study in the labs of study senior co-authors Jef D.

  Date:February 27, 2023   Source:Johns Hopkins University   Summary:      By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the planet today -- including plants, animals, and human.   By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the planet today -- including plants, animals, and humans. The findings, which detail how amino acids shaped the genetic code of ancient microorganisms, shed light on the mystery of how life began on Earth. Original article