The Genetic Home of Speech

Posted by John Farrier in Science & Tech on November 13, 2009 at 11:21 am

Why can humans talk and chimpanzees can’t? Scientists at UCLA and Emory University suspect that it comes down to a single gene designated FOXP2. There is only a slight variation in this gene between humans and chimps, as Elaine Schmidt writes in UCLA Newsroom:


“Earlier research suggests that the amino-acid composition of human FOXP2 changed rapidly around the same time that language emerged in modern humans,” said Dr. Daniel Geschwind, Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair in Human Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Ours is the first study to examine the effect of these amino-acid substitutions in FOXP2 in human cells[...]

“We found that a significant number of the newly identified targets are expressed differently in human and chimpanzee brains,” Geschwind said. “This suggests that FOXP2 drives these genes to behave differently in the two species.”

The research demonstrates that mutations believed to be important to FOXP2’s evolution in humans change how the gene functions, resulting in different gene targets being switched on or off in human and chimp brains.

Link via io9 | Image: US Department of Energy

 
Comment (6)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         

Neatorama Shop » Toy & Games » Science Toys

BuckyBalls Magnetic Toys are 216 rare earth magnet balls that can be shaped and molded into virtually any shape.

Tear 'em apart and snap 'em back together in unlimited ways for hours of fun! Watch the video for a quick demo of what BuckyBalls can do.

Remember to get two for twice the fun! Link
See more Science Toys »

Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan

Posted by Miss Cellania in Video Clips on August 22, 2009 at 11:50 am


(YouTube link)

Helen Keller and her instructor Annie Sullivan explain how Keller learned to speak in this 1930 Vitaphone newsreel. -via the Presurfer

 
Comment (18)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         


40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

Posted by Alex in Video Clips on December 15, 2008 at 2:38 am

If it’s an inspiring speech, you betcha it has been said in the movies somewhere. Here’s a truly inspiring video clip, edited by Matthew Belinkie of OverthinkingIt: 40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes.

Transcript:

Shame on you. This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you’re going to let it be the worst. And I guarantee a week won’t go by in your life you won’t regret walking out, letting them get the best of you. Well, I’m not going home. We’ve come too far! And I’m going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. A day may come when the courage of men fails… but it is not THIS day. The line must be drawn HERE. This far, no further! I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. You’re going to work harder than you ever worked before. But that’s fine, we’ll just get tougher with it! If a person grits his teeth and shows real determination, failure is not an option. That’s how winning is done! Believe me when I say we can break this army here, and win just one for the Gipper. But I say to you what every warrior has known since the beginning of time: you’ve got to get mad. I mean plum mad dog mean. If you would be free men, then you must fight to fulfill that promise! Let us cut out their living guts one inch at a time, and they will know what we can do! Let no man forget how menacing we are. We are lions! You’re like a big bear, man! This is YOUR time! Seize the day, never surrender, victory or death… that’s the Chicago Way! Who’s with me? Clap! Clap! Don’t let Tink die! Clap! Alright! Let’s fly! And gentlemen in England now abed shall know my name is the Lord when I tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our Independence Day!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Miss Cellania

 
Comment (12)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         


The Whistling Orangutan

Posted by Alex in Animal on December 12, 2008 at 12:46 pm

Bonnie, a 30-year-old female orangutan living at the Smithsonian National Zoological Part in Washington, D.C., started doing something strange one day: she started whistling!

Scientists have long known that orangutans copy physical movements of humans, but Bonnie’s whistling indicates that the learning capacities of orangutans and other great apes in the auditory domain might be more flexible than previously believed, Wich said. The behavior goes against the argument that orangutans have no control over their vocalizations and the sounds are purely emotional that is, an involuntary response to stimuli such as predators.

Bonnie appears to whistle for the sake of making a sound rather than to receive a food reward or some other incentive. If asked to whistle, she is likely to oblige, another indication to scientists that she makes the sound voluntarily.

Link | Video of the whistling orangutan – Thanks casey!

 
Comment (5)    Permalink   Please share:  email this