Friday, May 29, 2009

News on FOXP2

There are some interesting posts on new work done on FOXP2. The human version of the gene, which is implicated in vocal coordination and language in some way among a lot of other functions, was inserted into mice who also possess a version of foxp2 that influences, among other things, erly ultrasonic vocalizations. The brain led to changes in neural organization but otherwise bodily development was normal. One implication of this is that the changes in the human version of FOXP2 probably affect neural development, which is quite an ecxiting find.

There are posts on the paper by Enard et al. over at:

Anthropology.net

Gene Expression

The Loom

Update:

Ed Yong of Not Exactly Rocket Science also has a nice post up on the topic

No comments: