Yu Ji

This study shows that the human-specific HAR HACNS1 drives opposing heterochronic changes in craniofacial and limb development through altered gene regulatory networks.

The paper identifies accelerated evolution in conserved enhancer elements across mammals and links it to regulatory function turnover and developmental gene modifications.

The paper identifies human accelerated regions (HARs) that regulate gene networks involved in neural progenitor fate transitions, specifically affecting apical-to-basal polarity and cortical development.