Human Accelerated Regions

chr20 · 20q13.33 · HAR1A / HAR1B

The loudest human-specific stretch of DNA ever found — an RNA gene that turns on while the fetal cortex is being layered.

HAR1A · HAR1B

chr2 · 2q14.2 · HAR2

A limb-and-hand volume knob. This enhancer is one of the best-tested examples of a human-specific developmental switch.

GBX2 · AGAP1

chr14 · 14q13.1 · NPAS3 HAR cluster

NPAS3 hosts the largest HAR cluster in the genome — a transcription-factor locus that helps build and balance neural circuits.

NPAS3

chr14 · 14q13.1 · NPAS3 intron

A human-accelerated enhancer sitting inside NPAS3 itself — a switch embedded in the gene it helps control.

NPAS3

chr10 · 10p11.21 · FZD8 enhancer

A brain-growth enhancer of FZD8. In mice, the human version makes a slightly larger, more proliferative cortex.

FZD8

chr7 · 7q11.22 · HAR31 cluster

AUTS2 is a neurodevelopmental gene with a HAR cluster. Protein sequence is conserved; the schedule of use is human-shifted.

AUTS2

chr7 · 7p23

A cell-division pace-setter in the growing cortex. HAR contacts here are a candidate for how long progenitors keep dividing.

PPP1R17

chr6 · 6p22

A mid-list HAR whose signal is less about louder enhancers and more about lost ancestral DNA plus 3D rewiring.

ATXN1

chr17 · 17q21

An accelerated enhancer in a duplication-rich neighborhood on chromosome 17.

MAPT

chr2 · 2q14

A HAR whose human-specific letters look coordinated — not a random spray of mutations.

GLI2

chr2 · 2q31.1

Near the HoxD cluster — the ancient body-plan genes. Human acceleration here is about limbs and axial timing, not a new Hox protein.

HOXD

chr8 · 8q24

An accelerated element in a famous gene desert that controls growth-factor timing.

MYC

chr7 · 7q22.1

CUX1 helps upper-layer cortical neurons take their identity. HARs nearby are candidate timing switches for that identity.

CUX1

chr16 · 16q24.3

A chromatin-regulator locus. HARs here may change how other genes are packaged, not just one downstream target.

ANKRD11

chr14 · 14q13.1 · NPAS3 cluster

A human-accelerated enhancer sitting inside NPAS3. 2025 CRISPR work shows the human letters turn this gene down by changing which proteins can sit on the DNA.

NPAS3

chr7 · 7q11.22 · AUTS2

The named HAR inside the AUTS2 locus.

AUTS2

PUM2 cis

A HAR that helps turn PUM2 up — a gene used when cells decide whether to stay pluripotent or become neural.

PUM2

SOCS2 cis · 2xHAR.178

A HAR variant linked to higher SOCS2 and longer neurites — more wiring, same protein parts.

SOCS2

ETV5 / TRA2B contacts

A 2026 human enhancer that rewires 3D chromatin to ETV5 and TRA2B and changes how many neurons an organoid makes — in opposite directions if you swap chimpanzee letters in.

ETV5 · TRA2B