Why Humans No Longer Have Tails

25 Million years ago, before humans were upright- we were primates with tails…

Researchers from New York University Langone Health may have finally learned how early humans took a major step away from predecessor primates in the evolutionary process…

Looking at DNA samples of people, apes without tails, and monkeys, the scientists discovered that the latter is missing a piece of genetic code shared by the former two.

Scientists figured out that a new genetic code randomly inserted into early humans and non-tailed apes during prehistoric times…

However, it remains unclear why or how ancient creatures’ compositions determined that tail loss was best for evolutionary survival.

Experiments with mice found that tail loss might also coincide with an increase in neural tube defects, which in people can cause diseases like spina bifida — an affliction when the spine does not align properly with the spinal cord.