Human intelligence may be 212 copies of this gene, and the resulting protein the basis for consiousness. What if we gave a rat 212 copies of this gene, a chimp or a dog.

We're not the only animal with a conscience, though, are we?  I thought dogs, horses, and dolphins also had thought/learning... just that dogs, horses, and dolphins don't have the means to invent tools nor manipulate them (well, a dolphin does use tools to hunt, I think I remember seeing that).

Are humans really that much better?  Or is our capacity to think indexed with our capacity to use our opposable thumbs?

How about combining this technique with the DNA sampling of supercentenarians? Compare these people against a random sample of 'normal' humans, and see if anything jumps out...

consciousness may have many many levels. A 'sense of self' seems to be one main criteria when talking about higher levels of consciousness(perhaps recognizing oneself in a mirror - something that many animals fail to do, may be an indicator of a higher level. Humans, dolphins, and chimps are among the fewest animals to display MSR - mirror self recognition)

this paper is interesting...

www.nsi.edu/users/seth/Papers/SethEdelmanBaarsCC.pdf