Origin of Intelligence and mental illness linked to ancient genetic accident

                                                     
Hopefully we have all seen the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, well in the movie they describe how they became mutant. The baby turtles were swimming in primordial ooze that caused a genetic mutation that not only made them human size but also made them more intelligent! Well Professor Seth Grant of the University of Endinburgh led a group of researchers, that discovered for the first time how humans and other mammals have evolved to have intelligence. They have identified that 500 million years ago when the genes that enable us to think and reason evolved. This research is detailed in two papers in Nature Neuroscience, the papers also shows a direct link between the evolution of behavior and the origins of brain diseases. The study shows that the intelligence we possess developed as a result of an increase in the number of brain genes in our evolutionary ancestors. The researchers suggest that a simple invertebrate animal living in the sea 500 million years ago experienced a "genetic accident" that resulted in extra copies of these genes. This animals decendents (humans) greatly benefited from these extra genes. The researchers studied the mental abilities of mice and humans using comparative tests. They then combined their results to information from the genetic codes of various species to work out when different behaviors evolved. They found that higher mental function in the humans and mice were controlled by the same genes. The study also showed these genes were mutated or damaged. Professor Grant concluded that, "The researchers previously shown that more then 100 childhood and adult brain diseases are caused by gene mutations. It would be interesting to see if this is all true or not! http://esciencenews.com/articles/2012/12/03/origin.intelligence.and.mental.illness.linked.ancient.genetic.accident