Scientists Link Gene to Human Speech

01A new study suggests the beginnings of human speech are linked to genetics.

02The research identifies a protein, found only in people, that may have helped early humans develop spoken communication.

03Scientists involved in the study say this new speaking ability became important for humans' survival.

04For example, speech permitted individuals to share information, organize activities, and pass down knowledge.

05These abilities are now seen as an advantage humans had over their relatives, such as the Neanderthals and Denisovans.

06The researchers recently published their findings in a study in the journal Nature Communications.

07Liza Feinstack teaches about speech and hearing at the University of Minnesota.

08She told the Associated Press, or AP, The new study is a good first step to start looking at the specific genes that may affect speech and language development.

09Feinstack was not involved in the study.

10Dr.

11Robert Darnell has long been studying the protein, called NOVA1, at his laboratory at New York's Rockefeller University.

12He helped lead the new research and was a writer of the study.

13Darnell told the AP, The genetic version, or variant, included the protein that helped humans develop into the dominant species that remains today.

14The latest research involved scientists using CRISPR gene editing methods to replace the NOVA1 protein found in mice with the one found in humans.

15The aim was to test the real-life effects of the genetic variant.

16The researchers were surprised to learn that the variant changed the way the animals called out to each other.

17Baby mice with the human variant made a different sound than normal mice do when their mother came around.

18Adult male mice with the variant also made different sounds when they were near a female they wanted to mate with.

19Darnell said both of these situations gave the mice a reason to speak.

20Those with the human variant spoke differently, demonstrating the gene's influence in speech, he added.

21This is not the first time a gene has been linked to speech.

22In 2001, British scientists said they had discovered the first gene tied to a language and speech disorder.

23Researchers called this human language gene FOXP2.

24But even though FOXP2 was found to be linked to human language, the variant in modern humans was not found in our species alone.

25Later research found it was shared with Neanderthals.

26The NOVA1 variant in modern humans, on the other hand, is found only in our species, Darnell said.

27The presence of a gene variant is not the only thing that permits people to speak.

28The ability also depends on physical elements in the human throat and areas of the brain that work together to help people produce speech and understand language.

29Darnell said he hopes the recent work can lead to new ways to treat speech-related problems.

30The University of Minnesota's Findstack noted the genetic findings could also one day permit scientists to identify people who might need help developing speech and language early in life.

31That's certainly a possibility, she said.

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