Genomics: What Makes Us Human

What makes a human human? Humanity as a whole is very unique when compared with the species of the rest of the world. We have greatly advanced languages and communication techniques and advanced social structures. We have created money and used it as a means to trade with others across the globe. We have built massive structures that seem to graze the sky. We have created gods and weaponry to destroy each other in the blink of an eye. With the massive impact humanity has made on the world in such a short time, one would expect us to be completely different from all other species on a genetic level. But upon further research and years of study genomics we have discovered that that is false. Humankind is not some enlightened being with …show more content…
The HAR1 gene is a noncoding gene, which means the gene aids in gene expression. This gene has a direct influence on brain development. HAR1 controls the size of the brain while it's developing, and it also controls the surface area of the brain through the development of wrinkles in the brain. The gene acts as template for proper development of thee cortex, the wrinkled region of the brain. When cells begin start to differentiate in gestation, HAR1 begins to do its work. It is not quite known how the gene affects the development of the brain, as with the function of many other non coding genes in the body, but it is known that HAR1 has a direct influence in the cortex. In species, human and other animals, a mutation in HAR1 leads to a disease known as lissencephaly, smooth brain. Species with lissencephaly in turn have a reduced number of folds in the brain, and have a much greater risk of developing schizophrenia or other neurological diseases later in adulthood (Pollard, …show more content…
In all mammals, LCT is a gene that merely codes for the protein lactose which allows for animals to digest the breast milk from their mother. The human version of LCT however is very different than that. Human LCT codes for the production of lactase, a much stronger version of the enzyme that allows for humans to digest the milk of any type of mammal. The evolution of this gene actually happened twice separately in human history. European and African descendants actually developed this stronger gene independently to each other in human history. However, humans of Asian and Latin American descent never developed as strong of a gene for lactase, which makes them much more likely to be lactose intolerant (Pollard,