THE human genome was unveiled last year to much fanfare, self-congratulation and just a little disappointment. For despite our apparent sophistication, we find we have fewer genes than plants such as the humble rice plant.
Now a London-based biologist thinks he has the answer to this apparent paradox. The number of genes we have may be a concession to our complex immune system, says immunologist Andrew George of Imperial College. If we had any more, our bodies would be crippled by autoimmune diseases because our immune cells wouldn’t be able to learn to recognise and ignore the huge numbers of…
