Why did humans start speaking? A new study links one gene to the origins of spoken language, proposing that a protein variant found only in humans may have helped us communicate in a novel way—and what scientists learn may someday help people with speech problems. Speech over the centuries allowed us to share information, coordinate activities, and pass down knowledge, giving us an edge over extinct cousins like Neanderthals and Denisovans. The new study is "a good first step to start looking at the specific genes" that may affect speech and language development, said Liza Finestack at the University of Minnesota, who wasn't involved with the research, per the AP.
The genetic variant researchers looked at was one of a variety of genes "that contributed to the emergence of Homo sapiens as the dominant species," said Dr. Robert Darnell, an author of the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. Darnell has been studying the NOVA1 protein, known to be crucial to brain development, since the early 1990s. For the latest research, scientists in his lab at Rockefeller University used CRISPR gene editing to replace the NOVA1 protein found in mice with the exclusively human type to test the real-life effects of the variant.
To their surprise, it changed the way the animals vocalized when they called out to each other. Baby mice with the human variant squeaked differently than normal littermates when their mom emerged; adult male mice with the variant chirped differently than their counterparts when they saw a female in heat. Both are settings where mice are motivated to speak, Darnell said, "and they spoke differently" with the human variant.
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This isn't the first time a gene has been linked to speech. In 2001, UK scientists said they had discovered the first gene tied to a language and speech disorder, FOXP2, which was referred to as the human language gene. But though FOXP2 is involved in human language, the variant in modern humans isn't unique to us—later research found it was shared with Neanderthals. The NOVA1 variant in modern humans, on the other hand, is found exclusively in our species, Darnell said. He hopes the recent work leads to new ways to treat speech-related problems. More here.
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