#FOXP2
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shiningangelx.bsky.social
how do you know foxp2 didnt make you say that
September 23, 2026 at 4:54 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
The real story of the FOXP2 gene, & what it can & cannot tell us about human language, is complicated & fascinating, & it does not involve any extraterrestrials. If you want to learn more, some overviews of the science are here: www.cell.com/current-biol... & link.springer.com/article/10.1...
10/n🧪
Human Genetics: The Evolving Story of FOXP2
FOXP2 mutations cause a speech and language disorder, raising interest in potential roles of this gene in human evolution. A new study re-evaluates genomic variation at the human FOXP2 locus but finds...
www.cell.com
July 5, 2026 at 4:41 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
25 years ago, we implicated rare variants of the FOXP2 gene in a severe speech disorder. I’ve spent much time stressing that FOXP2, while interesting, is not the mythical “gene for language”. Weirdly, on occasion I also need to explain why it’s not “proof of aliens”. Full disclosure in this 🧵. 1/n
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Promotional poster for the 2026 science fiction film Disclosure Day.
July 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM
vimoding.bzky.team
this is foxp2 erasure i won't stand for it
September 23, 2026 at 4:53 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
It begins badly then heads rapidly downhill.
Tsoukalos: FOXP2 is a gene that was found in our nucleotides.
Reality: Like other genes, FOXP2 is made of nucleotides. That is, nucleotides are found in FOXP2, not the other way around. I’m being pedantic, of course, but we’re just getting started ... 3/n
A still image from the History Channel’s TV series Ancient Aliens, season 3, episode 16, which includes a segment about the FOXP2 gene. The still shows a schematic depiction of a DNA double-helix. At this point, the presenter Giorgio A. Tsoukalos is informing viewers that “FOXP2 is a gene that was found in our nucleotides”.
July 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
One big source of FOXP2-alien nonsense is a TV “documentary” series on the History Channel. In their segment on FOXP2 (first broadcast in 2011) a man named Giorgio Tsoukalos makes 5-6 statements about the gene, each of which is false. All packed into less than one minute’s viewing. Let’s dig in. 2/n
A still image from the History Channel’s TV series Ancient Aliens, season 3, episode 16, which includes a segment about the FOXP2 gene. The still shows the presenter Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, (publisher, Legendary Times Magazine) as he begins to tell his viewers all sorts of utter nonsense about FOXP2 and aliens.
July 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
I often see misunderstandings & confusion (in media but also scientific literature) over what studies of the FOXP2 gene can & cannot tell us about human evolution. Here's a short commentary I wrote a few years ago for @currentbiology.bsky.social with aim of clarifying for a general readership. 🧬🗣️🧪
Human Genetics: The Evolving Story of FOXP2
FOXP2 mutations cause a speech and language disorder, raising interest in potential roles of this gene in human evolution. A new study re-evaluates genomic variation at the human FOXP2 locus but finds...
www.cell.com
February 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
piotrgasiorowski.bsky.social
Czy istnieją "geny języka"? Dlaczego właściwie nasz gatunek rozwinął zdolność do porozumiewania się za pomocą mowy? Gdyby zysk z tej umiejętności był oczywisty, ewolucja z pewnością doprowadziłaby wielokrotnie do jej pojawienia się w różnych liniach rodowych.
eksperymentmyslowy.pl/2022/12/09/p...
Ptak śpiewający z Australii i Małych Wysp Sundajskich, zeberka zwyczajna (Taeniopygia guttata), której gen i białko FOXP2 są w 99% identyczne z wariantem ludzkim. W rozwoju jej mózgu gen FOXP2 odgrywa ważną rolę, oodobnie jak u ludzi. Foto: Simon Griffith. Źródło: Hauber & al. 2021 (licencja CC BY 4.0).
November 26, 2025 at 11:32 AM
cedricboeckx.bsky.social
What did the two amino acid substitutions in #FOXP2 that occurred uniquely in the human lineage do? 🧪🧬 🧠
Fascinating new @cp-cell.bsky.social study by @shadys11.bsky.social D. Jarosz & J. Wysocka, uncovering a molecular function for these 2 substitutions in promoting the solubility of FOXP2. (1/n)
DNA binding and mitotic phosphorylation protect polyglutamine proteins from assembly formation
DNA binding and phosphorylation protect FOXP2, a transcription factor with the longest polyQ track in the proteome, from aggregation during interphase and mitosis. Harnessing these native solubility-p...
www.cell.com
April 22, 2025 at 6:44 AM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
FOXP2 became a jumping-off point for fascinating research in a range of fields: neuroscience, developmental biology, animal behaviour, evolutionary anthropology & beyond. It has also taught me lots about the challenges of communicating across disciplines. But that’s a story for another thread.
18/18
Human Genetics: The Evolving Story of FOXP2
FOXP2 mutations cause a speech and language disorder, raising interest in potential roles of this gene in human evolution. A new study re-evaluates genomic variation at the human FOXP2 locus but finds...
www.cell.com
October 5, 2025 at 11:19 AM
jacanamama.bsky.social
We measured gene expression in the blood of wild song sparrows after simulated territorial intrusion. This was a paired design, comparing response to local vs. foreign songs.

The coolest result... song-associated genes (FOXP2, NRXN1) had higher expression when birds heard local songs!
September 24, 2026 at 8:50 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Tsoukalos: It is something that sets us COMPLETELY APART from any other animal.
Reality: Versions of FOXP2 are found in similar form in a great many distantly related species; humans, other apes, monkeys, rodents, bats, birds, reptiles, fish... This is a gene with a deep evolutionary history. 4/n
A still image from the History Channel’s TV series Ancient Aliens, season 3, episode 16, which includes a segment about the FOXP2 gene. The still shows a schematic depiction of protein alpha-helices as they interact with a DNA double-helix. At this point, the presenter Giorgio A. Tsoukalos is informing viewers that FOXP2 “is something that sets us completely apart from any other animal”.
July 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Tsoukalos: And the answer is YES!
Reality: The answer is no. But admittedly that is based purely on hundreds of studies of FOXP2, its evolutionary history over millions of years, its functions in species including humans, mice, bats, birds, frogs, fish etc. + copious evidence-based research. 9/n
A still image from the History Channel’s TV series Ancient Aliens, season 3, episode 16, which includes a segment about the FOXP2 gene. The still shows the presenter Giorgio A. Tsoukalos as he responds to his own question about whether FOXP2 was gifted to humans by aliens, proclaiming with misplaced confidence “and the answer is yes”.
July 5, 2026 at 3:44 PM
poppyhaze.bsky.social
While FOXP2 is not a singular “the language gene”, it is vital for expressing language to each other in terms of motor activities, moving your mouth, lips, hands, etc. Humanized FOXP2 mice also move through mazes faster. FOXP2 related genes are associated with mental illness.
December 12, 2023 at 4:57 PM
poppyhaze.bsky.social
RIP Chomsky, right about the deep brain structures, also why we should give domestic cats the humanized FOXP2 gene in the womb
June 18, 2024 at 7:03 PM
cedricboeckx.bsky.social
For background on #FOXP2, this concise piece by @profsimonfisher.bsky.social is still the very best I know:
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Human Genetics: The Evolving Story of FOXP2
FOXP2 mutations cause a speech and language disorder, raising interest in potential roles of this gene in human evolution. A new study re-evaluates genomic variation at the human FOXP2 locus but finds...
www.cell.com
April 22, 2025 at 6:44 AM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Tsoukalos: Scientists have suggested that THAT GENE ALONE is responsible for language.
Fisher, Lai, Monaco [scientists who discovered FOXP2]: “It must be emphasized that this is likely to be just one of many genes involved in speech & language.” Annu Rev Neurosci, 2003
www.mpi.nl/publications...
5/n
A still image from the History Channel’s TV series Ancient Aliens, season 3, episode 16, which includes a segment about the FOXP2 gene. The still shows the presenter Giorgio A. Tsoukalos as he proclaims that “scientists have suggested that that gene alone is responsible for language”.
July 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Tsoukalos: There is absolutely NO EVIDENCE OF ORIGIN or that this thing somehow mutated from the animal kingdom towards us.
Reality: By sequencing versions of FOXP2 found in many species, scientists have traced its origins & the ways it changed over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. 6/n
A still image from the History Channel’s TV series Ancient Aliens, season 3, episode 16, which includes a segment about the FOXP2 gene. The still shows a baby chimp in grassland. At this point, the presenter Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, who is somehow blissfully unaware of the massive body of scientific literature on versions of FOXP2 in many many non-human species, confidently misinforms his viewers that “there is absolutely no evidence of origin or that this thing somehow mutated from the animal kingdom towards us”.
July 5, 2026 at 2:56 PM
edhagen.net
Great thread on the discovery that a rare mutation in FOXP2 disrupts language, with an appearance by Steve Pinker. Subsequent research showed that FOXP2, a transcription factor, is highly conserved, yet acquired 2 amino acid substitutions in the human lineage. 🧪 #BioAnth
profsimonfisher.bsky.social Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · Oct 4
Twenty-four years ago today, our paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” was published: www.nature.com/articles/350....
A personal thread about the ups & downs of the journey we took to get to that point....1/n
🗣️🧬🧪
Image shows the first two printed pages of the paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” by Cecilia Lai and colleagues, published in Nature in 2001 (volume 413, pages 519-523). The abstract reads as follows: Individuals affected with developmental disorders of speech and language have substantial difficulty acquiring expressive and/or receptive language in the absence of any profound sensory or neurological impairment and despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although studies of twins consistently indicate that a significant genetic component is involved, most families segregating speech and language deficits show complex patterns of inheritance, and a gene that predisposes individuals to such disorders has not been identified. We have studied a unique three-generation pedigree, KE, in which a severe speech and language disorder is transmitted as an autosomal-dominant monogenic trait. Our previous work mapped the locus responsible, SPCH1, to a 5.6-cM interval of region 7q31 on chromosome 7. We also identified an unrelated individual, CS, in whom speech and language impairment is associated with a chromosomal translocation involving the SPCH1 interval. Here we show that the gene FOXP2, which encodes a putative transcription factor containing a polyglutamine tract and a forkhead DNA-binding domain, is directly disrupted by the translocation breakpoint in CS. In addition, we identify a point mutation in affected members of the KE family that alters an invariant amino-acid residue in the forkhead domain. Our findings suggest that FOXP2 is involved in the developmental process that culminates in speech and language.
October 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
More than two decades have passed since we discovered that rare disruptions of the FOXP2 gene disturb development of proficient speech/language skills. Today we know of multiple FOXP genes that are directly implicated in distinct brain-related conditions with differences in symptoms & severity.🧪 1/n
A depiction of expression patterns of the FOXP1, FOXP2, and FOXP4 genes in the brain, based on the developmental human RNA sequencing dataset of BrainSpan (http://www.brainspan.org/). Data cover different prenatal timepoints starting at 8-to-10 weeks postconception (abbreviated as pcs), postnatal timepoints from 0-to-12 months (abbreviated as mos), and expression measured in adulthood. A dashed vertical line represents time of birth. Individual dots are shown each representing one brain sample, and lines show loess curves fitted through the datapoints. The analyzed brain regions are A1C, primary auditory cortex; CB, cerebellum; CBC, cerebellar cortex; DFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; DTH, dorsal thalamic nucleus; HIP, hippocampus; IPC, inferior parietal cortex; ITC, inferior temporal cortex; M1C, primary motor cortex; MD, mediodorsal thalamic nucleus; MFC, medial frontal cortex; OFC, orbitofrontal; S1C, primary sensory cortex; STR, striatum; TC, superior temporal cortex; V1C, primary visual cortex; VFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This image comes from Figure 1 of a paper entitled “Molecular networks of the FOXP2 transcription factor in the brain” written by den Hoed, Devaraju and Fisher, published in the journal EMBO Reports in August 2021 (Volume 22, article e58203).
October 29, 2025 at 5:09 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Tsoukalos: So this gene exists out of NOWHERE without ANY origin.
Reality: Are you even paying attention? The very first study of the human gene (back in 2001) pointed out that it’s also present in mice! There are only 2 protein-coding differences between human FOXP2 & its counterpart in chimp! 7/n
A still image from the History Channel’s TV series Ancient Aliens, season 3, episode 16, which includes a segment about the FOXP2 gene. The still shows a human, arms outstretched, with translucent skin, so that you can see skeleton and organs beneath. At this point, the presenter Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, who is somehow blissfully unaware of the massive body of scientific literature on versions of FOXP2 in many many non-human species, confidently asserts that “this gene exists out of nowhere without any origin”.
July 5, 2026 at 3:00 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
FOXP2 is not here specially to bestow you with the gift of the gab. It has multiple roles in diverse tissues & across many species. Disruptions of this gene have disproportionate effects on speech & language; asking how/why gives useful insights. Nuance is crucial, no language genes required. 9/9
Schematic figure demonstrating complementary approaches for investigating roles of the FOXP2 gene in the brain. The left-hand panel shows a pedigree diagram of the three-generation family with childhood apraxia of speech, studies of which led to discovery of the first pathogenic FOXP2 mutation. The middle panel shows molecular functions of the FOXP2 protein, how it interacts with multiple other proteins in molecular networks, and how it regulates chromatin condensation and aspects of neuronal maturation. The right-hand panel highlights effects of the gene on neurobiological pathways and behaviour, as identified through studies of animal models such as mice and songbirds, with a focus on the cortex, striatum, and cerebellum of the brain. The figure is taken from an article by Joery den Hoed and Simon Fisher entitled "Genetic pathways involved in human speech disorders", published in 2020 in the journal Current Opinion in Genetics and Development.
December 20, 2024 at 6:22 PM
cedricboeckx.bsky.social
Beautiful work from James Li’s lab, out in @natneuro.nature.com, dissecting the role of FOXP genes [mostly, FOXP1 and FOXP2] in regulating Purkinje cell diversity and cerebellar hemisphere developnent
🧪🧠🧬
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
FOXP genes regulate Purkinje cell diversity and cerebellar morphogenesis - Nature Neuroscience
The Li lab mapped molecularly distinct Purkinje cell (PC) subtypes in 3D and linked them to adult cerebellar architecture. They found that Foxp1/Foxp2 are essential for PC diversity and that Foxp1+ PC...
www.nature.com
August 19, 2025 at 11:37 AM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
For various reasons, photos/videos of this meeting are doing the rounds on news & social media. But my eye is drawn to the background; this is the "DNA salon" installed in the Dutch Royal Palace in 2019, including art representing the sequence of FOXP2, a gene for which I have a certain fondness. 🧬🗣️
Photograph of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, on either side of President Trump. At this historic meeting they are standing together in the DNA salon of the Dutch Royal Palace. Renovated in 2019, the walls behind them depict an artistic representation of Royal DNA sequences for a small selection of genes, including FOXP2, a gene implicated in speech and language development.
June 27, 2025 at 5:46 PM