Among them was a magnetic resonance imaging survey last year which found that East Asians had a higher cranial vault, which allowed their skulls to house a bigger brain. The Chinese researchers said a gene called CASC5 – one of eight regulating human brain size – might provide more clues. However, scientists generally agreed that humans had made significant sacrifices in return for increased brain size, Su said. The brain consumed lots of energy, and a bigger brain made birth more difficult and drained resources from the rest of the body, resulting in many issues such as decreased physical strength. Europeans were generally bigger and stronger than Asians, Su said, but whether the physical difference was associated with brain size required further investigation.

Source: The Star January 28, 2017 23:26 UTC