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Lesson Summary


Inthis lesson students will enter the world of the genome, learning about humanhistory and evolution by examining information about human, Neanderthal, andchimpanzee DNA. Using web interactives and videosfrom The Human Spark, studentswill be introduced to the ambitious Human Genome Project, learn about thegenetic similarities and differences between human beings and our hominidancestors, explore how specific genes manifest themselves in differentorganisms, and discover how genetic information can help us trace a path ofhuman migration all the way back to our earliest ancestors.


Studentswill be able to:

  • Define gene expression;
  • Explain how geneticresearch helps track human migration over time.

Grade Level:


Suggested Time

(2-3)45 minute class periods

Media Resources

Ratty Old Genes Video
Talk of Life Video

Web Sites

JourneyInto DNA

Atlasof the Human Journey

A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome

The Lesson

Part I: Introductory Activity

1. Startclass with a brief review of the structure of DNA,genes, and the human genome. Askstudents to log on to the Journey Into DNAinteractive in pairs or groups, depending on how many computers areavailable. As students click through theinteractive, ask them to look for the answers to the following questions andwrite the answers in their notebooks.(You can ask these questions aloud as the students click through thescreens, or project them on a screen.)


Give students approximately 10 minutes tocomplete the interactive. When everyoneis finished, review the answers with the class.



4. Tell students thatthe human genome is not the only genome that has been sequenced. In fact, as part of the original Human GenomeProject, genomes of other organisms, such as mice and the e. coli bacteria were sequenced and analyzed both to help developthe gene mapping technology and to learn more about interpreting genefunction. Now that the technology forsequencing and interpreting the genome is in place, scientists are studying thegenomes of organisms that can help us to learn more about human ancestry andevolution – chimpanzees and Neanderthals.By viewing and comparing the results of the Human, Chimpanzee, andNeanderthal Genome Projects, scientists can piece together a sort of “RosettaStone” of genetic changes and evolution since humans last shared a common ancestorwith chimps six million years ago.

Part II: Learning Activity 1



Genome Chart

Tell students that when comparing genome sequences,humans and Neanderthals share 99.7% of base pairs, and humans and chimpanzeesshare 98.5% of base pairs.



5. Human and chimpanzeegenomes are compared in different ways but still display striking similarities.When looking at the two genomes scientists don’t just compare the single lettersequences but take into account all of the insertions, deletions, duplications,and rearrangements in the sequences. Even with all of this information the twogenomes are close to 96% identical, and 29% of the genes found in the two genomesare completely identical. There aresigns of evolution over time from the chimpanzee genome to the human genome--over 50 genes from the modern human genome are completely or partially missingor deleted from the chimpanzee genome, suggesting the development or evolutionof new genes and traits over time – but scientists have yet to pinpoint theexact significance of many of these changes.

Part III: Learning Activity 2





Play Talk of Life. When the video is finished, review questions andanswers with class. Explain that scientists are still trying to determine whatinternal and external factors turn the FOXP2 gene on, and how it affects speechonce it is turned on.

4. The FOXP2 gene is ofspecial interest to scientists for several reasons – language may be what setsus apart from our earlier hominin ancestors, and has allowed us to communicateand organize as a society – but it is not certain yet it the gene is essentialto “the human spark.” Tell students thatwhile the FOXP2 gene is different in humans and chimpanzees, as they saw in thevideo, recent research indicates that the Neanderthals possessed the sameversion of the FOXP2 gene that modern humans have today. Tell students that scientists are trying tofigure out if this means that Neanderthals had the same capacity for speech asmodern humans. Split the class into twogroups, assigning one group to argue for Neanderthal speech capabilities, andthe other group to argue against Neanderthal speech capabilities. Based on what students have learned about theminor genetic differences between humans and Neanderthals, as well as what theyknow about how genes express differently based on internal and externalfactors, ask each group to formulate a basic thesis supporting their assignedargument. Give each group 10 – 15minutes to discuss, and then present to the class. (Samplearguments FOR: the genetic differences between the two species are so minor thatwe could speculate that the gene would “turn on” the same way as in humans,anatomy is so similar that the same genetic expression would likely result inthe same physical expression. AGAINST: Sincethe repercussions of the genetic differences are unknown we can’t know if theFOXP2 gene would express in the same way, just because the gene is the samedoesn’t mean the expression would be the same – the mice in the video didn’t start talking just because they had the same gene.) Depending on the time and resources availableto you and your class, you may wish to extend this activity, and have studentsspend more time researching this topic in the computer lab or library, andpresent their arguments in a debate setting.

Part IV: Culminating Activity




  • When did this haplogroup first appear?
  • Where did this haplogroup first appear?
  • Where members of this haplogroup now?

Give students approximately ten minutes tocomplete the activity, and then tell them they can have another five to tenminutes to explore the interactive on their own.Ask them to think about the “Out of Africa” theory as they clickthrough the interactive, and think about how the growing and spreading humanpopulations might have encountered Neanderthals or other early hominids as theymigrated to other areas of the globe. Dostudents think the human populations would have faced challenges ordifficulties? Do they agree with the“Out of Africa” theory?




  • In the GenographicProject, scientists isolated specific genes to trace human evolution throughpaths of migration from one location to another. At the Max Planck Institute, scientistsisolated the FOXP2 gene to trace hominin evolution through the development oflanguage. Imagine you are a scientist,and you can choose a specific type of gene to help you trace the path of humanevolution over millions of years. Whatwould you choose? Why?


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