By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press WASHINGTON Scientists
believe they have found a key gene that helped the human brain
evolve from our chimp-like ancestors. In just a few million
years, one area of the human genome seems to have evolved about
70 times faster than the rest of our genetic code. It appears to
have a role in a rapid tripling of the size of the brain's
crucial cerebral cortex, according to an article published
Thursday in the journal Nature. Study co-author David Haussler,
director of the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering
at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said his team found
strong but still circumstantial evidence that a certain gene,
called HAR1F, may provide an important answer to the question:
"What makes humans brainier than other primates?" Human brains
are triple the size of chimp brains. Looking at 49 areas that
have changed the most between the human and chimpanzee genomes,
Haussler zeroed in on an area with "a very dramatic change in a
relatively short period