The human skeleton looks very different from that of a chimpanzee, yet the underlying genomes are nearly identical. According to new research highlighted by Phys.org, the genes themselves are almost the same. The key to what makes us human appears to be hidden in the regulatory DNA that determines when and where those genes are activated.
This study focuses on cartilage, the tissue that forms the skeleton during development. By examining how gene expression is controlled in cartilage, researchers are finding clues to how evolution tweaked the human skeletal form without changing the core genetic code.
The findings suggest that small shifts in regulatory DNA can have outsized effects on anatomy. Rather than evolving new genes, humans may have evolved new patterns of gene activity, particularly in cartilage, that led to our distinctive skeletal structure.