Human Brain Genes to Make Monkeys Smarter

File photo - A monkey walks on top of a fence in India's
capital New Delhi Aug. 3, 2004. (REUTERS/Desmond Boylan AH/CP)
File photo - A monkey walks on top of a fence in India's capital New Delhi Aug. 3, 2004. (REUTERS/Desmond Boylan AH/CP)
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Human Brain Genes to Make Monkeys Smarter

File photo - A monkey walks on top of a fence in India's
capital New Delhi Aug. 3, 2004. (REUTERS/Desmond Boylan AH/CP)
File photo - A monkey walks on top of a fence in India's capital New Delhi Aug. 3, 2004. (REUTERS/Desmond Boylan AH/CP)

In a new leading and controversial experiment, Chinese scientists said they tried to narrow the gap between the intelligence of humans and monkeys, by implanting human brain cells in monkeys' brains.

Human intelligence remains one of the most difficult aspects of evolution on earth. Man has managed to surpass all the living creatures and build civilizations with his mind.

Researchers at the Kunming Institute of Zoology said they managed to breed a generation of macaque monkeys with versions of human genes, which, according to the scientists, play an important role in the formation of human intelligence.

Bing Su, the geneticist at the Kunming Institute of Zoology who led the effort, said: "this was the first attempt to understand the evolution of human cognition using a transgenic monkey model."

According to their findings, the modified monkeys did better on a memory test involving colors and block pictures, and their brains also took longer to develop like those of human children do. There wasn’t a difference in brain size.

The findings of this study, published in Beijing's journal National Science Review on March 27, made headlines in the Chinese media.

The Chinese scientists had been badly criticized by a number of US scientists who called the experiments reckless and questioned the ethics of genetically modifying primates.

The journal MIT Technology Review cited James Sikela, a geneticist of primates at the University of Colorado, saying: "the use of transgenic monkeys to study human genes linked to brain evolution is a very risky road to take."



Severe Storms in New York City Area Kill Two in New Jersey Floods

 A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Severe Storms in New York City Area Kill Two in New Jersey Floods

 A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Two people were killed in New Jersey during flash flooding as severe storms lashed the New York City area on Monday night into Tuesday, submerging cars and flooding subway stations.

The intense rainfall caused widespread travel disruption across the region's airports, highways and railways.

More than 2 inches (5 cm) of rain were recorded in a single hour in Manhattan's Central Park, the second most for a 60-minute period in history, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

Videos showed flooding in several subway stations on Monday evening, including a geyser of water spewing into a station on Manhattan's West Side.

Officials said the subway system was simply overwhelmed by the amount of rainfall in such a short amount of time. The antiquated sewer system can handle around 1.75 inches (4.44 cm) of rainfall per hour, Rohit Aggarwala, the city's environmental protection commissioner, told reporters on Tuesday, compared with a rate of more than 4 inches an hour at the storm's peak.

"I probably don't recall seeing that level of rain before," Adams said.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and said two people died in Plainfield when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters.

The victims were found in a submerged car, Murphy told reporters.

Murphy said that some places got 6 inches (15.25 cm) of rain in less than 2.5 hours and that it appeared some locations experienced flooding for the first time. The governor blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

"That's the new reality," he said.

In Westchester County, north of the city, authorities conducted multiple water rescues as cars were submerged and highways shut down due to flooding. In nearby Rockland County, the suburb of Nanuet recorded more than 5 inches (12.7 cm) of rain, according to the National Weather Service.