Year: 2022

DATING OF DIVERGENCE. “Of numerous minor changes at the level of individual base-pairs, only two changes lead to changes at the protein (amino acid) level. Statistical analysis of the pattern of changes gave a (relatively imprecise) estimate of when these changes occurred in human phylogeny, somewhere between 200,000 years ago and the present.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

BIG IMPACT. “Thus, a simple and relatively recent change of two amino acids in a protein is enough to result in major behavioral and cognitive changes in the human lineage.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

THE OBSERVER MAKES THE UNIVERSE. “We must conclude that our very act of measurement not only revealed the nature of the photon’s history on its way to us, but in some sense determined that history.” (John Archibald Wheeler’s delayed choice experiment, one of quantum’s greatest enigmas; a phenomenal essay). https://lnkd.in/d7YphmqJ View in LinkedIn

Old lifestyle of preserving home grown tomatoes at the end of the season. Photo credit to Lola, a picture of her father. View in LinkedIn

TRANSGENICS. “Work is currently in progress to genetically engineer a mouse with copies of the human gene. Although no one expects this will result in a talking mouse, it will enable a detailed investigation of the effects of the FOXP2 gene on mammalian neural development, and identification of the cascade of other genes that the FOXP2 transcription factor presumably regulates.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

A VERY BIG DEAL. “Thus, the isolation of the first gene that is both clearly linked to a high-level human function (spoken language) and is a derived trait in humans (differing from chimps and identical among human populations) is cause for considerable excitement.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

MULTI-GENETIC. “However, it is obvious that changes in many other genes were necessary for the shaping of the language faculty during human evolution, and at present we can only guess at how many there might be.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

HIGH BAR. “If FOXP2 is any example, surprisingly small genotypic changes may lead to major changes at the phenotypic level, which could make the search for relevant genes quite difficult.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

LARGE SEARCH SPACE. “The combination of luck and immense research effort that went into uncovering FOXP2 is also sobering: if there are 100 such genes we are a very long way off from isolating them all.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

CANDIDATE GENES. “However, a number of candidate genes can already be identified due to their involvement in various language disorders. Another fascinating gene, involved in brain size regulation, is called ASPM; null mutations in humans lead to a 70% decrease in brain volume.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn