How mere 2% different genetic blueprint made Chimpanzee so different from a human?

Why Chimpanzee is different from a human?

It is the innate nature of scientists to solve one mystery and chase for another. So research in the field of science never comes to an end.

This is exactly what happened in the year 2000 when the Human Genome Project, which started in 1990 to understand the mapping of human genetic blueprints, was completed.

Scientists undertook a project of genome mapping of the closest animal to humans: “Chimpanzee”. The primary objective of this project was to find out what similarities between chimpanzees and human DNA have.

In particular, to clarify the question of why the intelligence of the chimpanzee, considered to be the most intelligent of non-human beings, did not reach the level of man.

About 2 million years ago after humans and chimpanzees were divided into two separate factions as descendants of the same ancestor, the human mind became fertile over time, while chimpanzees were left behind. The reason is lying in the genetic blueprint.

Genetic Blue Print

When the genome mapping of the chimpanzees was completed, it was discovered that from a biological point of view, the genetic blueprint, which could be called a biography, was written on 8 pairs of chromosomes.

These chromosomes contain about 2,500 genes, while the total alphabet in those genes is 4.5 billion. More importantly, scientists have found that the difference between a chimpanzee's genetic blueprint and that of a human is not more than 2 percent.

After one year of careful examination, very interesting findings came to light. Although the difference of two percent is not particularly big, it has differentiated between chimpanzees and humans in many aspects.

For example, odor-determining genes have abounded in chimpanzee blueprints. Humans have lost many of these genes after abandoning wildlife, so their sense of smell is weaker than that of chimpanzees.

The difference of two percent is also expressed in the disease resistance. Chimpanzees are almost immune to malaria infections, while we are ahead of them in combating Tuberculosis (TB).

Chimpanzees also have a different body type than ours due to a difference of two percent.

What is the reason behind the huge gap between chimpanzees and humans in terms of intelligence? The answer to this question came to scientists while decoding the genes of chimpanzees.

Gene is formed in the blueprint by a precise arrangement of four types of alphabets - Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Thiamine, which is the symbolic code (A, C, G, T) known as nucleotides that creates a particular type of protein.

DNA And RNA Structure

This code ultimately determines the factors for the biological action in the body. Of course, the fact that genes exist forever does not mean that they are kept on giving the necessary protein-building commands.

The bells should be rung at times. For example, to transform from child to adolescent, it is important that adolescent proteins are formed after a few years and that genes should remain dormant until they are actually needed.

After a certain amount of physical structure in adolescence, its genes should shrink its function — otherwise, the man or chimpanzee becomes a super-giant. The question is who instructs the genes when to be active and when to be dormant?

Answer: Nature has written its instruction in the codebook of the genetic blueprint. GATCCATTG, which forms a generic word, it has a short code consisting of the letters A, T, C, and G at the front of the series, which can be compared with a switch.

When the switch is on, the gene starts to make the protein, and when it is turned off, the gene closes its “shop”.

The difference between chimpanzees and human intelligence is found in such a switch to the scientific team that studied the genome map for a year.

The basic components of intelligence are neurons known as brain neurons. The neurons of chimpanzees and humans are very similar. The network that connects these neurons is also no different in both cases.

Neuron Network

Significant differences are observed in the number of neurons. What happens is that at the stage of embryonic development, the single cell divides and divides into 2, then 4, 8, 16, and then after forty such divisions, the human brain takes the shape containing one hundred billion neurons.

If the division stops a few steps ahead, it creates the brain of the chimpanzee, which is 33% less of the size of the human brain. Obviously, the network of neurons was also reduced by 33%.

The difference of brain: Chimpanzee and Human

The intelligence depends not on the shape of the neurons, but on their number and their network. In the case of the chimpanzee, the cause of the split was the early closure of the gene's function, so the monkey never became as intelligent as a human.

The switch is part of that 2 percent difference and the slight difference proved huge for chimpanzees, both physically and intellectually.

Science-Health

Health Tips When Working With Computers: An Office Guide

Knowledge Express - August 14, 2020 0

Cases of chronic disease called Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI), which are caused by long hours of continuous work on the computer, are rapidly being reported in the world these days.

Health Tips When Working With Computers: An Office Guide

Person suffering from RSI

Especially in large cities where millions of operators who sit in front of a computer for long periods of time doing software programming as well as data entry work face daily tingling in the fingers, toes, elbows and shoulders. In other words, they have become patients of RSI.

The computer operator leans his wrist on the keyboard for hours almost unknowingly. Due to which the claws are constantly bent upwards. The constriction produced near the wrist creates a constant pressure on the nerves as well as the muscles passing through it. After months or years, that part of the joint becomes numb and begins to tingle. In the long run, the same mold is formed in the elbow as in the case of claws. The elbow hinge, which is constantly leaning on the handle of the chair while operating, becomes weak.

The biggest trouble is created by computer monitor screen, from which a daily dose of (dim) X-rays emitted is harmful to the operator's eye. That leads to tears, inflammation in the evening and pain in the eyes.

The revolution in the field of computers can no longer be stopped, but like television, computer has become a part of the furniture of many homes. If this 'furniture' is planned in an ideal way, it is possible to get some relief from the disease of RSI.

This means that if the desktop computer's desk itself is not faulty, then the person operating the computer has to suffer minimum physical problems. A plan prepared by experts is shown in the below diagram.

According to this plan, the height of the table on which the computer is to be placed should be a maximum of 28 inches above the ground level. The minimum distance between the monitor screen and the eye should be 20 inches and the maximum distance should be 26 inches.

It is also important that the head stays upright during the operation and that the angle between the monitor and the eye is at least 10 and at most 30 degree. The keyboard on the desk has to be arranged in such a way that the operator can keep his paws in a straight line and at the same time make an angle of about 90 degree elbows.

The condition where the finger bends only slightly during data entry is medically ideal. The design of the chair should be such that its seat can be adjusted to a convenient level. There should be a distance of at least 24 inches between the chair and the table too.

The most important thing is that if the operator takes a break of five to seven minutes on an average every hour and during that time relaxes the muscles of the wrists as well as the elbows, then there is no question of recurrence of a number of ailments under the heading of RSI.

An interesting survey found that in the case of operators who are accustomed to smoking cigarettes more often, the chances of suffering from RSI computer-borne disease are reduced by 50%. Intervals to quench the thirst for cigarettes provide much needed relief to their eyes, waist, paws and elbows.

In short, a reasonable desk for a desktop computer, as well as a reasonable rest for the body under the pretext of a short break while operating, naturally reduces the risk of developing RSI.

EARTH

“NO FOOD”- How Animal World Goes For Fasting ?

Knowledge Express - August 10, 2020 0

Food is not always plentiful for animals and birds in nature. Sometimes food is hard to find and sometimes there is no food at all. In that situation animals and birds saves energy in many ways to pull off the forced “NO FOOD” days.

In order to survive in hard conditions many species of animal and birds disrupts the blood supply to their organs, paralyze their digestive system, lower their body temperature and temporarily shut down the immune system. The buffer stock of fat keeps them alive during that time.

Thus many animals and birds go on full or partial starvation due to lack of food, but some species is known to go on without food for days, months or years. Let’s check out some of them.

20 Days:

Atlas Moth

The caterpillar eats three to four times of its own weight per day but it forsakes eating after it transformed into imago known as “Atlas Moth”. This moth eats nothing; it only survives on body fat. However, the fast ends around twenty days with its death.

7 Months:

Fat Tailed Dwarf Lemur

Madagascar's “Fat-Tailed Dwarf Lemur” does not receive fruit and insect in the mountain forests during the winter, meaning it stays dormant in tree hollows for an average of 210 days, relying on body fat. Meanwhile, its body temperature is maintained at the same level as the air temperature so that it does not have to lose calories through "heat transfer".

10 Months:

Eastern Pygmy Possum

In Australia's frequent turbulent, unpredictable weather, the “Eastern Pygmy Possum” has no regular food supply. As a result, it often goes without food around 10 months and rely only upon reserve fat.

1.5 Years:

Python

The “Python” is cold-blooded reptile. It does not have to maintain body temperature at certain level, so “Python” saves calories lying idle. Moreover, its metabolism is very slow. Once it finds a prey, it can easily runs without food for a year and a half.

2 Years:

Lung Fish

There is no doubt that a “Lung Fish” is marathon player in fasting. It lives in the lakes of Africa and it actually has lungs in addition to gills. As the water in the lakes dries up, it goes bottom of the soil. During drought, it can go without food for extended period upto two years.

5 Years:

Burrowing Frog

Burrowing species of “Frog” found in Australia can go without food for years after it buried itself underground. It comes out only when it is raining and at that time, it eats like glutton. It can even prey insects half of its size and put them directly in its stomach.

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How mere 2% different genetic blueprint made Chimpanzee so different from a human?