Humans continue to evolve: Study tracks the emergence of 155 new genes

Frank Robert · Dec 21, 2022

Modern humans evolutionarily split from our chimpanzee ancestors nearly 7 million years ago, yet we are continuing to evolve. 155 new genes have been identified within the human lineage that spontaneously arose from tiny sections of our DNA. Some of these new genes date back to the ancient origin of mammals, with a few of these "microgenes" predicted to be associated with human-specific diseases.

Three of these 155 new genes have disease-associated DNA markers that point to connections with ailments such as muscular dystrophy, retinitis pigmentosa, and Alazami syndrome. Apart from disease, the researchers also found a new gene that is associated with human heart tissue. This gene emerged in humans and chimps right after the split from gorillas and shows just how fast a gene can evolve to become essential for the body.

"It will be very interesting in future studies to understand what these microgenes might do and whether they might be directly involved in any kind of disease," says Vakirlis.

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AV1611VET · Dec 21, 2022

Frank Robert said:
"It will be very interesting in future studies to understand what these microgenes might do and whether they might be directly involved in any kind of disease," says Vakirlis.

If only 3 of 155 (so far) are related to diseases, that leaves 152 pending, doesn't it?

I have a feeling it's going to be more than just diseases this discovery is going to justify.

Brace yourselves for the end-times.

Bungle_Bear · Dec 21, 2022

AV1611VET said:
Brace yourselves for the end-times.

What, again?

Tuur · Dec 22, 2022

If some of these genes date back to "the ancient origins of mammals," then they are not newly emerged, nor do they indicate that humans "continue to evolve." More accurately, it's 155 newly discovered genes, which is something far different.

Homeowner · Dec 22, 2022

Bungle_Bear said:
What, again?

AV is going to double his posting speed.

AV1611VET · Dec 22, 2022

Tuur said:
If some of these genes date back to "the ancient origins of mammals," then they are not newly emerged, nor do they indicate that humans "continue to evolve." More accurately, it's 155 newly discovered genes, which is something far different.

I'm sure they'll find some place to force-fit their new discovery.

AV1611VET · Dec 22, 2022

Homeowner said:
AV is going to double his posting speed.

Frank Robert · Dec 22, 2022

Tuur said:
If some of these genes date back to "the ancient origins of mammals," then they are not newly emerged, nor do they indicate that humans "continue to evolve." More accurately, it's 155 newly discovered genes, which is something far different.

They newly emerged in humans, meaning they are new for humans.

New gene origination is a driving force of evolutionary innovation in all organisms.

Frank Robert · Dec 22, 2022

AV1611VET said:
If only 3 of 155 (so far) are related to diseases, that leaves 152 pending, doesn't it?

I have a feeling it's going to be more than just diseases this discovery is going to justify.

Brace yourselves for the end-times.

There are between 20,000 and 25,000 genes in the human body.

Humans Are Doomed to Go Extinct

Habitat degradation, low genetic variation and declining fertility are setting Homo sapiens up for collapse

The signs are already there for those willing to see them. When the habitat becomes degraded such that there are fewer resources to go around; when fertility starts to decline; when the birth rate sinks below the death rate; and when genetic resources are limited—the only way is down.

The question is “How fast?”

AV1611VET · Dec 22, 2022

Frank Robert said:
Habitat degradation, low genetic variation and declining fertility are setting Homo sapiens up for collapse.

I can think of a forth reason that will account for "declining fertility," but I won't mention it in this post.

But it will both sink the birth rate AND raise the death rate at the same time, and will probably account for more than habitat degradation, low genetic variation and declining fertility combined.

Tuur · Dec 22, 2022

Frank Robert said:
They newly emerged in humans, meaning they are new for humans.

New gene origination is a driving force of evolutionary innovation in all organisms.

Let's see...if the earliest known mammal existed 225 million years ago, and some of our genes date back to that, that's hardly new.

Astrid · Dec 22, 2022

Frank Robert said:
There are between 20,000 and 25,000 genes in the human body.

Humans Are Doomed to Go Extinct
Habitat degradation, low genetic variation and declining fertility are setting Homo sapiens up for collapse

The signs are already there for those willing to see them. When the habitat becomes degraded such that there are fewer resources to go around; when fertility starts to decline; when the birth rate sinks below the death rate; and when genetic resources are limited—the only way is down.

The question is “How fast?”

That's like just your opinion, man.

Frank Robert · Dec 23, 2022

Tuur said:
Let's see...if the earliest known mammal existed 225 million years ago, and some of our genes date back to that, that's hardly new.

It is straight forward, the genes are new to humans.

Frank Robert · Dec 23, 2022

Estrid said:
That's like just your opinion, man.

It is an opinion I agree with. As the article states "The signs are already there for those willing to see them."

Astrid · Dec 23, 2022

Frank Robert said:
It is an opinion I agree with. As the article states "The signs are already there for those willing to see them."

I'm not "unwilling" and the suggestion is off base.
Reading Sign is reading a cloudy crystal ball.

Living here in China I am daily confronted with
" too many people".

That environmental devastation on a global
scale is obvious.

A massive population crash seems to me
all but inevitable.

Extinction of our species, not so much.

My opinion, v yours.

Tuur · Dec 23, 2022

Frank Robert said:
It is straight forward, the genes are new to humans.

Genes that supposedly date back to the first mammals are new to humans?

Astrid · Dec 23, 2022

Tuur said:
Genes that supposedly date back to the first mammals are new to humans?

No.

Frank Robert · Dec 23, 2022

Tuur said:
Genes that supposedly date back to the first mammals are new to humans?

Have you any evidence that the "new genes" in the article appeared in humans before now?

Tuur · Dec 23, 2022

Estrid said:
I'm not "unwilling" and the suggestion is off base.
Reading Sign is reading a cloudy crystal ball.

Living here in China I am daily confronted with
" too many people".

That environmental devastation on a global
scale is obvious.

A massive population crash seems to me
all but inevitable.

Extinction of our species, not so much.

My opinion, v yours.

For what it's worth, I once knew a missionary who came back to the US from spending most of her life in Taiwan, and she said her first reaction was "Where are all the people?" Out of curiosity, I looked at Hong Kong, known to have a high population density, and came up with about 6,782 per square km of land. Where I live works out to be about 14 per sq km of land, and we're not considered remote. Where I grew up wasn't considered remote, either, yet it had far less people per square km of land.

Tuur · Dec 23, 2022

Frank Robert said:
Have you any evidence that the "new genes" in the article appeared in humans before now?

It's in the article itself. Look under the fancy chart. There you will find the following:

"155 new genes have been identified within the human lineage that spontaneously arose from tiny sections of our DNA. Some of these new genes date back to the ancient origin of mammals, with a few of these "microgenes" predicted to be associated with human-specific diseases. This work was published on December 20 in the journal Cell Reports."

These are newly discovered genes, not newly evolved genes. If some of them date back to the "ancient origin of mammals," they are hardly new.

Humans continue to evolve: Study tracks the emergence of 155 new genes

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