Approximately 25 million years ago, an ancestor of both humans and apes genetically diverged from monkeys and lost its tail. No one had identified the genetic mutation responsible for this dramatic change in our physiology — until now.
In a new study published Wednesday (Feb. 28) in the journal Nature, researchers identified a unique DNA mutation that drove the loss of our ancestors’ tails. It’s located in the gene TBXT, which is known to be involved in tail length in tailed animals.
The impressive discovery began when first study author Bo Xia, formerly a graduate student at New York University who is now a principal investigator at the Broad Institute, injured his tailbone and became interested in the structure’s origin.
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