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INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES. “In summary, the combination of a well-established interdisciplinary field of speech science and a rich comparative database has provided a firm foundation for work on the evolution of speech, and new neural and molecular data have made this one of the most solid and exciting domains of research on the evolution of language.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

PROMISING FUTURE. “I conclude that comparative molecular genetics, combined with cognitive and neuroscientific investigations, offer great promise to ground discussions of language evolution at the level of specific changes in DNA during human evolution.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

THE SIZE QUESTION. “Although a direct link between brain size and language is questionable (several animal species, including dolphins, have larger brains than humans but lack language), the brain size increases that occurred during human phylogeny certainly constitute a crucial aspect of our biology.” 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

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

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

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

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

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

SCOPETIME. “A great deal of telescope time has been spent so far to detect and study submm-selected galaxies in other wavebands.” https://lnkd.in/dAkZ_ejH View in LinkedIn