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Researchers Pinpoint the Genetic Birth of Human Intelligence

500 million years ago, a stupid sea-going invertebrate had a genetic accident.

In what's probably good news for forward-thinking theologins everywhere, a team of researchers has pinpointed the the massive genetic accident that allowed humans to become intelligent. According to a new paper in Nature Neuroscience, it all went down 500 million years ago, when some undetermined sea-going invertabrate experienced a "genetic accident," in which the number of brain genes (specifically, four different DLG genes) harbored by the species suddenly shot up. This opened the door to all of the higher functioning--learning, analyzing, adapting--that most of us humans take for granted.

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It also opened the door to mental illness. Turns out schizophrenia wasn't so widespread among prehistorical swimmy fish. "Our work shows that the price of higher intelligence and more complex behaviours is more mental illness," says the University of Edinburg's Professor Seth Grant, who led the research. Basically, the more genes you have going, the more chances you have for mutation and, thus, mental illness. The good news is that Grant's research lays the groundwork for gene-based therapies for mental illness.

It's worth pointing that this lift in intelligence didn't just hide out in the greater evolutionary pool until it came time for humans to burst forth all ready to do math and write books. It was a long process that began with that genetic accident. The boost is the difference between most slightly sophisticated animals and dumb sea blobs, not the difference between humans and apes. Which is why researchers were able to figure all of this out based on behavior studies in mice, who share those extra brain genes. Also: schizophrenic mice is the saddest thing I've thought of all day.