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Scientists Discover a Uniquely Human Gene Linked to Spoken Language
And when geneticists put it in mice, they squeaked in more complex ways
As a writer, I love language and all the creative ways we use it, but as a human, complex language is one of the most valuable tools we’ve ever created. And as far as scientists can tell, we’re the only species that has evolved language to the extent that we have, which is why they’re eager to understand how we’ve developed the ability.
After all, our species had to evolve specific anatomical features and neural networks to enable our ancestors to form and communicate words and sentences, both of which scientists already have a broad understanding of.
What’s more of a mystery is the genetic component of speech, which orchestrated the entire evolution of our features and thus, our complex language ability. However, a recent study may change that. Researchers identified what appears to be a Homo-sapien-specific language gene. They even implanted it into the brains of mice, which made them squeak in more complex ways.
NOVA1 Gene
We aren’t the only species that uses sounds to communicate with each other. Many, if not most, animals do, and some species even use vocalizations for more than signaling warnings.
