Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, replicating evolution

Re:Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, r... by patcon on Sunday November 15, 2020 @03:13PM (#25104373)

Honestly, though the ethics are certainly dicey, I do wonder whether recreating a bridge intelligence between man and animal would raise appropriate societal questions that we've chosen not the think about all of modern history (lacking any sort of Neanderthal cohabitant).

It might help us all be in more relation with the world. Our lack of relation feels to me to be part of what's driving us into this extinction event. A "monstrosity" that convinces us to rethink the moral rights of other living creatures would perhaps be welcome...?

Maybe it ends up being the unasked-for bastard creature that saves all the others (incl us) from us, just by making us slow down and go "hold on hold on hold on. what THE FUCK?"

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Re:Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, r... by bredren on Sunday November 15, 2020 @03:31PM (#25104533)

I would guess such information would be preferred by many to remain unillustrated.

I suspect we have more to answer for in the scale of animal suffering than we could possibly imagine.

An awakening to the truth of how cruelly indifferent we are to animals would threaten power structures at a magnitude that makes #metoo look small.

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Re:Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, r... by plutonorm on Sunday November 15, 2020 @03:16PM (#25104402)

Neanderthals had larger brains in proportion to their body mass than we do. They were possibly smarter than we were.

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Re:Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, r... by ben_w on Sunday November 15, 2020 @04:26PM (#25105033)

We don’t know enough to know if that’s a good measure; if it is, ants would be at the top of the list for all animals, and treeshrews for mammals: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-to-body_mass_ratio

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Re:Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, r... by salty_biscuits on Sunday November 15, 2020 @05:32PM (#25105599)

The scaling power coefficient matters, they are so far off our mass that the coefficient might just be wrong. Neanderthals are about the same size so an error in the coefficient won't matter so much.

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Re:Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, r... by edgyquant on Sunday November 15, 2020 @08:22PM (#25106890)

That is widely attributed to them having a much greater sense of smell than us. They are thought to be equally as intelligent if not less so.

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