A new study has found that a tweak in gene expression might help humans walk upright.
The research undertaken by Stanford University Medical Center scientists have identified a change in gene expression between humans and primates may given edge to the former when it comes to walking upright.
The researchers studied a tiny fish called the threespine stickleback that has evolved radically different skeletal structures to match environments around the world.
David Kingsley, Professor of Developmental Biology at Stanford, said it's somewhat unusual to have a research project that spans from fish all the way to humans.
He, however, added it's clear that tweaking the expression levels of molecules called bone morphogenetic proteins can result in significant changes not just in the skeletal armor of the stickleback, but also in the hind-limb development of humans and primates.
To learn more about what the GDF6 regulatory region might be controlling, the researchers used the chimp regulatory DNA to control the production of a protein that is easy to visualize in mice. .
The study is published in the journal Cell.
