Are we humans simply remodelled apes? Chimps with a tweak? Is the difference between our genomes so minuscule it justifies the argument that our cognition and behaviour must also differ from chimps by barely a whisker? If “chimps are us” should we grant them human rights? Or is this one of the biggest fallacies in the study of evolution? NOT A CHIMP argues that these similarities have been grossly over-exaggerated - we should keep chimps at arm’s length. Are humans cognitively unique after all?
Friday, 8 July 2011
A gene implicated in speech regulates connectivity of the developing brain
In my chapter THE LANGUAGE GENE THAT WASN'T I detail the discovery of the transcription factor "master gene" FOXP2 and its relation to language disorder in humans, sonar in bats, and song production in birds. The researcher who discovered the role of FOXP2 - Simon Fisher - has now reported on work that has been going on ever since to discover the number of genes in the FOXP2 orchestra - the downstream genes whose activity is regulated by FOXP2. They have discovered a large number of genes many of which are involved in building up neuronal networks in the brain. I assume they are now going through the list of candidate genes they have identified to see what specific effects they have and paint in some specific links between genes and the human language faculty.