DNA from Lost Human Population Leads to More Questions than Answers.

 The Sahara as we know it today is so much different than what it once was. In its glory, it was an oasis full of life and beauty, and proved to be a channel for ideas to spread. The dessert and who inhabited it has been a mystery. Recently, geneticists were FINALLY able to examine gene sequences from the skeletons of two women. There is proof of pottery that came from outside the dessert, proving they had contact with people outside of their own families, but their genetics say the opposite...

The genes derived from the women show that they do not share genetic links to the African cultures surrounding the Sahara. In fact, the skelton has around 10 times LESS genetic code in common with Neanderthals, then current populations in the surrounding areas. There lies the mystery.

And to make it even weirder, there was clear signs of communication with other civilizations, due to the pottery and agricultural ideas that were shared, but no signs of gene mixing between them. 

The populations of the "green Sahara" have always been a mystery as it seems every new discovery leads to more questions, like in 2013 when a common burial ground used over 4 millenia, and had a random switch from only women and children to male burials. 

As technology advances we get more insight into our past, and I look forward what answers we get to how our species evolved to what we are today, and why these Saharan skeletons are an outlier to sciences prior beliefs. 

Saharan Genetics

2013 Findings

Does Heritable Gene Editing Need Legal Boundries?

    Now that science has been mor erefined we start to wuestion what are the bounds of ethical science? Scientists now able to change the CRISPR gene in embryos face legal guidance on if this should be legal going forward. Congressman Robert Aderholt had made a bill in 2015 stating the FDA could not review any intential germline editing drug. This to prevent any unethical science as being able to change the human genome could mean altering much more than a single genome causing catastrophic changes.

A genetic scientist Keith Joung backed up this amendment making a statement that there is no safe way to uniformily change the CRISPR genome. There may be chain reactions of change in the genome which could create mosaicism in the embryo as there is no sure way to expect the machinery to stop. In May 2025 there is scheduled to be a conference to further delegate the restrictions this genome science should have. With many thinking that without 100% certainty of clean gene splicing there are many chances of unknown risks making gene alteration a useless science with no ethical grounds.

NOVA1: The Mystery of the Squeaky Mouse

The language gene, known as NOVA1, has two main variations, one apparent in most mammals and one specific to humans, both of which underwent a change many years ago. When the gene appeared on a list of evolutionary protein-coding genes in 2012, Dr. Robert Darnell’s interest was sparked, as he is the scientist who discovered the gene in 1993. Another scientist named Dr. Siepel found that the original NOVA1 gene changed after our human ancestors parted ways from Neanderthals and Denisovans, leaving only six individuals as known carriers of the original gene. 

Dr. Darnell and an expert on animal sounds, Dr. Jarvis, found that when inputting the human version of the gene into mice, they made unique sounds and produced squeaks that parallel humans. Similar results were shown when inserting another language gene into mice called FOXP2, which underwent a change similar to NOVA1. Dr. Jarvis has interpreted these results to hypothesize that Neanderthals and Denisovans could talk and communicate because of the gene FOXP2. Testing this hypothesis will lead to more engineering of mice with these genetic mutations, which may give rise to even more intricate sounds.

The Creation of the Woolly Mouse and What It Means For the Future

 On March 5, 2025, CNN Health published an article about the development of mice that have several woolly mammoth traits. The article explains that in a study conducted by Colossal Biosciences, mice were genetically modified to have specific traits that differed between woolly mammoths and their closest living relative, the Asian elephant. The goal of this research is to, eventually, genetically modify Asian elephants into woolly mammoths and release them into their previously natural habitat. Traits relating to “hair length, thickness, texture, color, and body fat” were targeted. Eight genetic edits were made to the lab mice for seven different genes. One limitation of the study is that there is no evidence that the modified mice are cold-tolerant, which would be necessary for any modified elephant to live in the Arctic. More research will need to be done in order to translate the mice results to elephants. 

While the research conducted and ideas behind it are extremely interesting, I am not sure about the plausibility of returning woolly mammoths back into an environment they haven’t inhabited for thousands of years. I think there could be really disastrous consequences to introducing an essentially new species to an environment. The Colossal claims that the introduction of woolly mammoths would pack down the snow and slow the permafrost thaw and carbon release. Not to mention the ethical dilemma of breeding Asian elephants, which are endangered, in order to make genetic changes to form them into woolly mammoth-like animals. 

Study Illuminates the Genetic Architecture of Bipolar Disorder

 NIH Study Sheds Light on a Common Mental Disorder

    A very common mental disorder named Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental health conditioned ultimately characterized by extreme fluctuations in mood, energy, and lastly behavior. In the article, it goes ahead and explains many people feeling extremely "up" or irritable and also feeling very "down" or lack of pleasure. This disorder can be treated with medication, but over a long period of time it can get challenging to keep up with. The study suggests "a persons risk for developing bipolar disorder is influenced by many genes but open questions remain about the full range of genes involved and whether they differ for specific subtypes." This study is the largest to date with including 158,036 people with the specific disorder and 2,796,499 total people who do not have the disorder. The participants were of East Asian, African American, Latino, and European. In this study they found almost 300 gene locations and 36 unique genes being linked to this disorder. There were shown to be many overlapping other mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia. This research is a building block and new medications or approaches can be sought out and identified to help individuals suffering from bipolar disorder and even other types.

    My dad suffers from bipolar disorder and I know a few others who do to. It is more common than we know and some people just brush the symptoms off or don't know what to look for, so it gets untreated. It is great that researchers want to know more about the architecture of it and what genes make up the mental disorder. More studies and research can help educate individuals suffering from this specific disorder or even healthcare workers can learn something too. I wonder what research in the future will look like and what advancements in medicines and approaches there will be to help people like my dad. 

Sources:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-updates/2025/study-illuminates-the-genetic-architecture-of-bipolar-disorder

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder

Are we born political?

 Dr Leor Zmigrod has made a discovery, the politics a person associated with is correlated to biological factors. She has found that the brain structures of a person differ based on the types of politics a person follows and if their thinking is "flexible" or "rigid". For example, people with conservative beliefs have a larger amygdala, when compared to people with liberal ideologies. The amygdala being the part of the brain that processes fear and disgust. 

On a genetic level, it was found that people who are more cognitively flexible, have genetic markers that indicate greater amounts of dopamine in their prefrontal cortex, and less in the striatal regions of the brain. Dopamine has been known to be a genetic factor in personality, like extraversion traits. 

This can be a scary concept, as biological determinations for politics take away from hope that people can adapt their beliefs, as well as fear of interfering with a person's genetics/brain composition in order to change beliefs. These findings also emphasize how some individuals are more susceptible to political influences like propaganda. 

Dr Zmigrod mentions that she plans to do a longitudinal study, to determine if the brain's structure influences politics, or if politics influences the makeup of the brain later in life. 

Article

More on Dopamine and Personality

Unraveling the Genetic Prelude to Gastric Cancer

The article discusses research by Coorens et al., which analyzes human stomach tissues to explore the mutational landscapes across normal, precancerous, and cancerous stages. It highlights how normal gastric glands accumulate mutations over time, and how this mutational burden increases in metaplastic glands, potentially setting the stage for cancer. Normal gastric glands accumulate mutations over time primarily due to two factors: the natural aging process and the high turnover of cells. DNA replication errors can occur as cells divide to replenish the gastric epithelium, leading to mutations. Environmental factors such as diet, toxins, and even normal metabolic processes can also introduce DNA damage. These accumulated mutations can then contribute to the development of metaplasia and potentially lead to gastric cancer. This study offers insights into how early mutations in normal tissues could lead to cancer, emphasizing the importance of early detection and understanding mutational processes for cancer prevention.

The findings by Coorens et al. underscore the value of genomic surveillance in seemingly normal tissues. By identifying mutational signatures that appear early in the disease process, researchers may be able to develop biomarkers for early detection or risk assessment. This could pave the way for preventative strategies or targeted surveillance in individuals at higher risk for gastric cancer. Furthermore, understanding the mutational mechanisms at play may guide the development of therapies that interrupt the progression from metaplasia to malignancy.

Links:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00803-y 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03790-y

New CRISPR tool enables more seamless gene editing — and improved disease modeling

 Yale researchers have developed a new CRISPR tool that makes gene editing more smooth, accurate, and efficient. This development enhances the capability of CRISPR, a technique recognized for its ability to modify DNA with extraordinary precision. The new method decreases gene editing mistakes, increasing the reliability of genetic alterations, which is critical for both research and medicinal applications. Improving the accuracy of gene editing has the potential to open up new pathways for therapeutic development and personalized treatment.

    One of the most intriguing uses for this new technology is illness modeling. The upgraded CRISPR technology enables scientists to generate more precise genetic models of illnesses, hence boosting genetic research and therapy development. This might lead to a better understanding and potential solutions for genetic abnormalities, since researchers can more accurately duplicate human diseases in the lab. The new CRISPR technology represents a tremendous advancement, paving the path for more tailored medicines and transforming our approach to genetic research and therapy.