neuroscience - Why have humans evolved much more quickly than other animals?

Humans have, in a relatively short amount of time, evolved from apes on the African plains to upright brainiacs with nukes, computers, and space travel.

Meanwhile, a lion is still a lion and a beetle is still a beetle.

Is there a specific reason for this? Do we have a particular part of brain that no other animal has?

Answer

We have the Human Accelerated Regions (HARs) which are some of the most rapidly evolving RNA genes elements. While heavily conserved in vertebrates, they go haywire in humans and are linked with neurodevelopment.

Thanks to @Nico, the following paper compares the human genome with that of the chimp and identifies genetic regions that show accelerated evolution. The most extreme, HAR1 is expressed mainly in Cajal-Retzius neuron cells which hints at its important role in human development.

Pollard KS, Salama SR, Lambert N, Lambot M-A, Coppens S, Pedersen JS, Katzman S, King B, Onodera C, Siepel A, et al.. 2006. An RNA gene expressed during cortical development evolved rapidly in humans. Nature 443: 167–72.