Tagged: Human genetics

Not a Chimp : The Hunt to Find the Genes That Make Us Human

Certainly chimps are our closest genetic relatives. But relatively small differences in genetic code can lead to profound differences in cognition and behaviour. Our abilities give us the responsibility to protect and preserve the natural world, including endangered primates. But for the purposes of human society and human concepts such as rights, let’s not pretend that chimps are humans uneducated and undressed. We’ve changed a lot in those 12 million years.

When a Gene Makes You Smell Like a Fish : …and Other Amazing Tales About the Genes in Your Body

From the gene that causes people to age prematurely to the’bitter gene’that may spawn broccoli haters, this book explores a few of the more exotic locales on the human genome, highlighting some of the tragic and bizarre ways our bodies go wrong when genes fall prey to mutation and the curious ways in which genes have evolved for our survival.