"Unraveling Evolution's Genetic Blueprints: From Insect Flight to Human Cognition"
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Phys.org
A study of 20 different bilaterian species, including humans, sharks, mayflies, centipedes, and octopuses, reveals that more than 7,000 groups of genes can be traced back to the last common ancestor of bilaterians. Around half of these ancestral genes have been repurposed by animals for use in specific parts of the body, particularly in the brain and reproductive tissues, due to "copy paste" errors during bilaterian evolution. This gene specialization has led to the development of new physical traits or abilities, such as insect flight, octopus camouflage, and human cognition, demonstrating the significant role of changes in gene usage in different parts of the body in animal evolution.