Director James Cameron's "Avatar" movies are populated by a species of outsized blue beings resembling humans, except with tails. So why does our species lack a tail, considering that our evolutionary forerunners in the primate lineage had them? Scientists on Wednesday identified what might be the genetic mechanism behind the tailless condition of us and our ape ancestors - a mutation in a gene instrumental in embryonic development.
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.
An elegant run of experiments in mice reveals the genetic changes that led humanity’s ape ancestors to lose the appendage. An elegant run of experiments in mice reveals the genetic changes that led humanity’s ape ancestors to lose the appendage.
WASHINGTON (AP) Our very ancient animal ancestors had tails. Why don’t we? Somewhere around 20 million or 25 million years ago, when apes diverged from monkeys, our branch of the tree of life shed its tail. From Darwin’s time, scientists have wondered why and how this happened. Now, researchers have identified at […]