Brain Operates on 84 Percent of Human Genes, Map Shows, Allen Institute for Brain Science Reveals

About 84 percent of human genes are active in the brain, a finding that may help explain its complexities and diseases, according to the most extensive DNA analysis of the organ to date. In mapping the ways the genes link to the brain’s structures, researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, funded by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) co-founder Paul Allen, found that the vast majority of the 20,000 genes in the human genome play a role in the organ’s function and architecture. That’s more than in any other organ in the body, according to the report published today in the journal Nature.