Why do humans look like humans, rather than like chimps? Although we share 99% of our DNA with chimps, our faces and bodies look quite dif...
Why do humans look like humans, rather than like chimps? Although we share 99% of our DNA with chimps, our faces and bodies look quite different from each other.
While human body shape and appearance have clearly changed during the course of evolution, some of the genes that control the defining characteristics of different species surprisingly have not. As a biologist studying evolution and development, I have devoted many years to pondering how genes actually make people and other animals look the way they do.
New research from my lab on how these genes work has shed some light on how genes that have remained unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years can still alter the appearance of different species as they evolve.
I would die for Narwhal https://t.co/4GBvQ9g5vK
— STEMLORD (@upulie) November 15, 2019
Heads versus tails
In biology, a body plan describes how an animal’s body is organised from head to toe – or tail. All animals with bilateral symmetry, meaning their left and right sides are mirror images, share similar body plans. For example, the head forms at the anterior end, limbs form in the mid-body, and the tail forms at the posterior end.
Hox genes play an important role in setting up this body plan. This group of genes is a...
