Memories & History, Science & Health

As little as 1.5% of our genome is ‘uniquely human’ | Live Science

The rest is shared with ancient human relatives such as Neanderthals.

By Rachael Rettner – Senior Writer 2 days ago

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Less than 10% of your genome is unique to modern humans, with the rest being shared with ancient human relatives such as Neanderthals, according to a new study.

The study researchers also found that the portion of DNA that’s unique to modern humans is enriched for genes involved with brain development and brain function.

This finding suggests that genes for brain development and function are what really set us apart, genetically, from our ancestors.

Source: As little as 1.5% of our genome is ‘uniquely human’ | Live Science