Brain Development And The Neanderthal Mini-brain
The complete genome of the Neanderthal species was sequenced in 2013, from a phalanx (finger bone) Neanderthal fossil found in Siberia.
With this information in hand, the UC San Diego School of Medicine research team sought to isolate Neanderthal genes that were intimately involved in brain development processes. They eventually settled on NOVA1 as a candidate worth studying, and then set about designing an experiment that would prove their hypothesis that NOVA1 had a meaningful impact.
Using the characteristics of NOVA1’s genetic fingerprint as their guide, the researchers applied CRISPR gene-editing technology to malleable stem cells, in order to replicate Neanderthal brain cells in controlled laboratory conditions.