Scientists Splice Monkey Brains With Human Genes to Make Them Smarter in Bizarre Experiment

Scientists have spliced monkey brains with human genes in a bizarre “Planet of the Apes” experiment.

The experiments were conducted by the Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany and the Central Institute for Experimental Animals in Japan. Japanese and German researchers jointly injected a gene called ARHGAP11B — which directs stem cells in the human brain — into the dark matter of marmoset fetuses, according to a release about the historic research.

After the process, the scientists discovered that the primates’ brains had become more human-like by developing larger, more advanced neocortexes in the area that controls cognition and language, according to the study published in the journal Science earlier this year in June.

According to pictures published by the team, the modified monkey brains almost doubled in size at around 100-days into development.

“We found indeed that the neocortex of the common marmoset brain was enlarged and the brain surface folded,” said study author Michael Heide.

The neocortex is the newest part of the brain to develop a potential sign that ARHGAP11B may have been what caused brain maturity during human evolution, the researchers expressed.

Eventually, the scientists decided to abort the monkey fetuses due to “unforeseeable consequences,” according to the study.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that scientists have injected monkeys with human genes. Previously last year researchers in southern China and U.S. scientists jointly reported similar experiments creating 11 transgenic rhesus monkeys (eight first-generation and three second-generation) with extra copies of another human gene MCPH1 suspected of playing a role in shaping human intelligence. Except during the prior experiment they allowed them to fully develop.

The researchers in that study found that the transgenic monkeys carrying the human gene were important for brain development, and the monkeys showed human-like brain development as well.

Further, they discovered transgenic monkeys exhibited better short-term memory and shorter reaction time compared to wild rhesus monkeys in the control group.

That means that both studies observed that when different human genes were inserted into monkeys brains, the organs began to develop similar to a human. That’s a massive discovery for the history of evolution of man kind!