New York: Scientists have discovered genes that gave humans the ability to stand and walk upright 6 million years ago.
According to the researchers, these genes shaped the human structure ‘from the width of the hips to the length of the legs’ millions of years ago.
In research published in the journal Science, a team of scientists has identified variants (permanent changes in the DNA sequence) that are likely to be associated with arthritis (a condition of joint pain and inflammation) and could improve the diagnosis of the disease for doctors in the future.
“At a practical level, researchers have identified genetic variants and structural features that are associated with arthritis of the hip, knee and back,” said study co-leader Professor Tarjinder Singh from Columbia University.
Balancing on two legs (called bipedalism) is a fundamental characteristic of humans. This feature is believed to have helped early humans adapt to different environments and freed their hands to make tools.
In their research, researchers from the University of Columbia and Texas wanted to learn more about the genetic change that caused them to walk like chimpanzees and walk on two legs.
The scientists also wanted to know if the same mutation increased the risk of arthritis in humans.
(function(d, s, id){
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3&appId=770767426360150”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.7”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));