Change in gene code may explain how human ancestors lost tails
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.