"The Language Gene"

The Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany presented a study recently about a gene called FOXP2. This is a human gene that is believed to have mutated 500,000 years ago. But it is not the age of the gene that is important. Researchers believe that this gene is responsible for an increased rate of learning. This gene may have been one of the factors present when our ancestors began to develop the complex muscle movements that eventually produced sounds and noises and ultimately advanced enough to develop language.

Genes similar to this have been found in other vertebrates and code for the development of the brain stem and spinal cord. The human gene was planted into mice and they were observed. Curiously, the test mice learned at a more accelerated rate then the control mice. This supported the theory that the gene is responsible for better cognitive development. This is an amazing thing to think about. Scientists may have discovered a gene that could explain how we are able to advance the way that we do in this world.

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