Just a bit of DNA helps explain humans’ big brains

Scientists studying the difference between human and chimpanzee DNA have found one stretch of human DNA that can make the brains of mice grow significantly bigger.

“It’s likely to be one of many DNA regions that’s critical for controlling how the human brain develops,” says Debra Silver, a neurobiologist at Duke University Medical School.

It could also help explain why human brains are so much bigger than chimp brains, says Silver, who notes that “there are estimates of anywhere from two to four times as big.”

Read more or listen to the story from NPR.