Making monkeys more smart and human-like, scientists have used gene-editing to insert human brain gene in a monkey.

For the first time, a team of Chinese scientists made use of gene-editing techniques to make monkey brains more human-like. By the end, the monkeys, rhesus macaques, got smarter and had superior memories as compared to the unaltered monkeys.

Researchers edited the human version of a gene known as ‘MCPH1’ into the macaques. The gene made the monkeys’ brain develop along a more human-like timeline. The gene-hacked monkeys showed better reaction times and improved short-term memories in comparison to their unaltered peers, as per China Daily.

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The team successfully created 11 transgenic rhesus monkeys carrying human copies of MCPH1. They said that a transgenic monkey model is practical and to a large extent can imitate the human-specific status.