A new contender for a human 'language gene' can change the way that mice squeak when it is incorporated into their DNA. The gene is called NOVA1, and in our own species, it is remarkably unique. While ...

People like to talk. We're unique in the animal kingdom in terms of how much we communicate and the kinds of information we discuss. Scientists are trying to understand how this special trait evolved ...

All mice squeak, but only some sing. Scotinomys teguina, aka Alston's singing mice, hail from the cloud forests of Costa Rica. More than 2,000 miles north, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) ...

A new study shows that giving mice the human version of a gene changes their squeak, suggesting some of the genetic underpinnings of language. How a uniquely human genetic tweak changed the voices of ...