A gene called NOVA1 may be part of the solution to the mystery of how our ancestors evolved language. Here's my story about mice with strange squeaks. [Gift link] nyti.ms/3XuVehN 🧪
The Gene That Made Mice Squeak Strangely (Gift Article)
A new study suggests that the NOVA1 gene may have been a key player in the evolution of human language.
nyti.ms
February 18, 2025 at 6:34 PM
A gene called NOVA1 may be part of the solution to the mystery of how our ancestors evolved language. Here's my story about mice with strange squeaks. [Gift link] nyti.ms/3XuVehN 🧪
“NOVA1 is a gene distinguishing modern humans from extinct hominids but evolutionary pressures that selected the modern allele remain elusive...Lead exposure on human brain organoids carrying the archaic NOVA1 variant disrupts FOXP2 expression, a gene crucial for human speech/language abilities.”🤔🧪
Impact of intermittent lead exposure on hominid brain evolution
Lead exposure, as influenced by NOVA1 expression, affected brain function in multiple hominid species.
www.science.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:46 PM
“NOVA1 is a gene distinguishing modern humans from extinct hominids but evolutionary pressures that selected the modern allele remain elusive...Lead exposure on human brain organoids carrying the archaic NOVA1 variant disrupts FOXP2 expression, a gene crucial for human speech/language abilities.”🤔🧪
'this NOVA1 substitution may have been part of an ancient evolutionary selective sweep in a common ancestral population of H. sapiens, possibly contributing to the development of spoken language' A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications doi.org/10.1038/s414...
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications - Nature Communications
The neuron-specific RNA binding protein NOVA1 has a single amino acid substitution unique to modern humans. Here, the authors characterize the evolutional specificity and the function of the substitut...
doi.org
June 17, 2025 at 10:18 AM
'this NOVA1 substitution may have been part of an ancient evolutionary selective sweep in a common ancestral population of H. sapiens, possibly contributing to the development of spoken language' A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications doi.org/10.1038/s414...
TransPennine Express 802211 speeds through Stalybridge with 9M11, the Newcastle Central to Liverpool Lime Street. Long gone are those days of Sulzer power on this route! #Stalybridge #Class802 #Nova1 #TPE
February 11, 2026 at 7:25 AM
TransPennine Express 802211 speeds through Stalybridge with 9M11, the Newcastle Central to Liverpool Lime Street. Long gone are those days of Sulzer power on this route! #Stalybridge #Class802 #Nova1 #TPE
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications - Nature Communications
The neuron-specific RNA binding protein NOVA1 has a single amino acid substitution unique to modern humans. Here, the authors characterize the evolutional specificity and the function of the substitut...
www.nature.com
February 19, 2025 at 8:12 AM
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications www.nature.com/articles/s41...
NOVA1, a neuron-specific RNA binding protein & splicing factor, likely impacted language function in human evolution. Human NOVA1 is unique (vs mammals, Neanderthals), & it changes vocalization in CRISPR’d mice!
TY @NatureComms @RockefellerUniv team, collaborators @erichjarvis @asiepel labs
🧵👇
TY @NatureComms @RockefellerUniv team, collaborators @erichjarvis @asiepel labs
🧵👇
February 18, 2025 at 4:32 PM
NOVA1, a neuron-specific RNA binding protein & splicing factor, likely impacted language function in human evolution. Human NOVA1 is unique (vs mammals, Neanderthals), & it changes vocalization in CRISPR’d mice!
TY @NatureComms @RockefellerUniv team, collaborators @erichjarvis @asiepel labs
🧵👇
TY @NatureComms @RockefellerUniv team, collaborators @erichjarvis @asiepel labs
🧵👇
Human-specific I197V in NOVA1 alters mice vocalizations! Humanized mice: 95% surviving & behavior changes. #genetics PMID:39966351, Nat Commun 2025, @NatureComms https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56579-2 #Medsky 🧪
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications | Nature Communications
NOVA1, a neuronal RNA-binding protein expressed in the central nervous system, is essential for survival in mice and normal development in humans. A single amino acid change (I197V) in NOVA1’s second RNA binding domain is unique to modern humans. To study its physiological effects, we generated mice carrying the human-specific I197V variant (Nova1hu/hu) and analyzed the molecular and behavioral consequences. While the I197V substitution had minimal impact on NOVA1’s RNA binding capacity, it led to specific effects on alternative splicing, and CLIP revealed multiple binding peaks in mouse brain transcripts involved in vocalization. These molecular findings were associated with behavioral differences in vocalization patterns in Nova1hu/hu mice as pups and adults. Our findings suggest that this human-specific NOVA1 substitution may have been part of an ancient evolutionary selective sweep in a common ancestral population of Homo sapiens, possibly contributing to the development of spoken
doi.org
March 9, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Human-specific I197V in NOVA1 alters mice vocalizations! Humanized mice: 95% surviving & behavior changes. #genetics PMID:39966351, Nat Commun 2025, @NatureComms https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56579-2 #Medsky 🧪
Fascinating new study led by Yoko Tajima and @darnelr.bsky.social, revisiting the impact of the ‘sapiens’-specific protein-coding mutation in NOVA1 — here showing that vocalisations are impacted in a humanised mouse model 🧪🧬🧠🐭
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications - Nature Communications
The neuron-specific RNA binding protein NOVA1 has a single amino acid substitution unique to modern humans. Here, the authors characterize the evolutional specificity and the function of the substitut...
www.nature.com
February 18, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Fascinating new study led by Yoko Tajima and @darnelr.bsky.social, revisiting the impact of the ‘sapiens’-specific protein-coding mutation in NOVA1 — here showing that vocalisations are impacted in a humanised mouse model 🧪🧬🧠🐭
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Une mutation protéique modifie le couinement des souris. Une nouvelle étude révèle que des souris exprimant le variant humain de la protéine NOVA1 émettent des vocalisations différentes. Ce gène pourrait avoir eu un rôle essentiel dans l'émergence du langage humain.
a blue puppet mouse is sitting on a checkered table cloth .
ALT: a blue puppet mouse is sitting on a checkered table cloth .
media.tenor.com
February 24, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Une mutation protéique modifie le couinement des souris. Une nouvelle étude révèle que des souris exprimant le variant humain de la protéine NOVA1 émettent des vocalisations différentes. Ce gène pourrait avoir eu un rôle essentiel dans l'émergence du langage humain.
El gen NOVA1 y el origen de nuestro lenguaje hablado culturacientifica.com/2025/03/10/e...
El gen NOVA1 y el origen de nuestro lenguaje hablado — Cuaderno de Cultura Científica
NOVA1 (neuro-oncological ventral antigen-1) es un gen que se expresa en el sistema nervioso central de los vertebrados
culturacientifica.com
March 11, 2025 at 6:42 AM
El gen NOVA1 y el origen de nuestro lenguaje hablado culturacientifica.com/2025/03/10/e...
El gen NOVA1 y el origen de nuestro lenguaje hablado.
"El origen del lenguaje hablado implicó complicadas adaptaciones anatómicas relacionadas con la fonación, y el desarrollo de nuevas conexiones cerebrales"
por: @cccientifica.bsky.social
culturacientifica.com/2025/03/10/e...
"El origen del lenguaje hablado implicó complicadas adaptaciones anatómicas relacionadas con la fonación, y el desarrollo de nuevas conexiones cerebrales"
por: @cccientifica.bsky.social
culturacientifica.com/2025/03/10/e...
El gen NOVA1 y el origen de nuestro lenguaje hablado — Cuaderno de Cultura Científica
NOVA1 (neuro-oncological ventral antigen-1) es un gen que se expresa en el sistema nervioso central de los vertebrados
culturacientifica.com
March 10, 2025 at 7:46 PM
El gen NOVA1 y el origen de nuestro lenguaje hablado.
"El origen del lenguaje hablado implicó complicadas adaptaciones anatómicas relacionadas con la fonación, y el desarrollo de nuevas conexiones cerebrales"
por: @cccientifica.bsky.social
culturacientifica.com/2025/03/10/e...
"El origen del lenguaje hablado implicó complicadas adaptaciones anatómicas relacionadas con la fonación, y el desarrollo de nuevas conexiones cerebrales"
por: @cccientifica.bsky.social
culturacientifica.com/2025/03/10/e...
A protein that may have shaped human speech.
NOVA1 is a protein expressed in the central nervous system, possibly involved in the development of spoken #language through differential RNA regulation during #brain development.
#Science Wow!
➡️ science.org/content/arti...
➡️ nature.com/articles/s41...
NOVA1 is a protein expressed in the central nervous system, possibly involved in the development of spoken #language through differential RNA regulation during #brain development.
#Science Wow!
➡️ science.org/content/arti...
➡️ nature.com/articles/s41...
February 19, 2025 at 4:32 PM
A protein that may have shaped human speech.
NOVA1 is a protein expressed in the central nervous system, possibly involved in the development of spoken #language through differential RNA regulation during #brain development.
#Science Wow!
➡️ science.org/content/arti...
➡️ nature.com/articles/s41...
NOVA1 is a protein expressed in the central nervous system, possibly involved in the development of spoken #language through differential RNA regulation during #brain development.
#Science Wow!
➡️ science.org/content/arti...
➡️ nature.com/articles/s41...
Scientists Identify a Gene Linked to Spoken Language, and It Makes Lab Mice Squeak Differently
Scientists Identify a Gene Linked to Spoken Language, and It Makes Lab Mice Squeak Differently
A new study suggests the unique human version of the NOVA1 protein developed after our ancestors split from Neanderthals on the evolutionary tree, and it might have given us a competitive edge over ou...
www.smithsonianmag.com
March 2, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Scientists Identify a Gene Linked to Spoken Language, and It Makes Lab Mice Squeak Differently
Nazywa się NOVA1 i odróżnia nas od innych zwierząt. One też go, co prawda, mają, ale ten nasz jest nieco inny. Naukowcy wszczepili ludzki wariant genu NOVA1 do DNA w komórkach mysiego mózgu. #TomaszUlanowski #wyborcza wyborcza.pl/7,75400,3169...
Oto kolejny gen, dzięki któremu potrafimy mówić
Nazywa się NOVA1 i odróżnia nas od innych zwierząt. One też go, co prawda, mają, ale ten nasz jest nieco inny. Naukowcy wszczepili ludzki wariant genu NOVA1 do DNA w komórkach mysiego mózgu.
wyborcza.pl
February 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Nazywa się NOVA1 i odróżnia nas od innych zwierząt. One też go, co prawda, mają, ale ten nasz jest nieco inny. Naukowcy wszczepili ludzki wariant genu NOVA1 do DNA w komórkach mysiego mózgu. #TomaszUlanowski #wyborcza wyborcza.pl/7,75400,3169...
Homo no-lead-i. ... in seriousness, this is an interesting new paper! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Impact of intermittent lead exposure on hominid brain evolution
Lead exposure, as influenced by NOVA1 expression, affected brain function in multiple hominid species.
www.science.org
October 16, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Homo no-lead-i. ... in seriousness, this is an interesting new paper! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A single mutation in NOVA1 may have influenced human speech evolution. Genetically modified mice with the human variant produced altered vocalizations, hinting at a genetic basis for speech complexity. #NOVA1 #Evolution #Genetics #HumanLanguage
The Gene That May Have Helped Shape Human Language
How a Tiny Genetic Change in NOVA1 Altered the Way Mice Vocalize—And What It Means for Human Evolution
www.anthropology.net
February 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
A single mutation in NOVA1 may have influenced human speech evolution. Genetically modified mice with the human variant produced altered vocalizations, hinting at a genetic basis for speech complexity. #NOVA1 #Evolution #Genetics #HumanLanguage
A single amino acid change in a protein may underlie human language www.psypost.org/a-single-ami...
A single amino acid change in a protein may underlie human language
Mice engineered with a human-specific NOVA1 variant (I197V) showed altered vocalizations and RNA splicing in brain regions controlling sound production, suggesting that this mutation may have contribu...
www.psypost.org
February 19, 2025 at 8:14 AM
A single amino acid change in a protein may underlie human language www.psypost.org/a-single-ami...
"A new study suggests that the NOVA1 gene may have been a key player in the evolution of human language," writes Carl Zimmer. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/s...
The Gene That Made Mice Squeak Strangely
A new study suggests that the NOVA1 gene may have been a key player in the evolution of human language.
www.nytimes.com
March 8, 2025 at 7:32 PM
"A new study suggests that the NOVA1 gene may have been a key player in the evolution of human language," writes Carl Zimmer. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/s...
A single protein may have sparked the origin of human language
A human-specific NOVA1 gene mutation may have shaped the evolution of speech, distinguishing modern humans from Neanderthals and Denisovans.
A human-specific NOVA1 gene mutation may have shaped the evolution of speech, distinguishing modern humans from Neanderthals and Denisovans.
April 17, 2025 at 7:53 PM
A single protein may have sparked the origin of human language
A human-specific NOVA1 gene mutation may have shaped the evolution of speech, distinguishing modern humans from Neanderthals and Denisovans.
A human-specific NOVA1 gene mutation may have shaped the evolution of speech, distinguishing modern humans from Neanderthals and Denisovans.
I assume this is what the NOVA1 mice are saying
March 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I assume this is what the NOVA1 mice are saying
A human-specific single amino acid change in neuronal RNA-binding protein NOVA1 alters splicing and changes vocalization patterns. Findings suggests that this substitution may have played a role in development of spoken language through RNA regulation. https://buff.ly/3Qp9sg6 🧪
February 24, 2025 at 5:17 PM
A human-specific single amino acid change in neuronal RNA-binding protein NOVA1 alters splicing and changes vocalization patterns. Findings suggests that this substitution may have played a role in development of spoken language through RNA regulation. https://buff.ly/3Qp9sg6 🧪
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications 🏺🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Suggests that this human-specific NOVA1 substitution may have been part of an ancient evolutionary selective sweep in a common ancestral population of Homo sapiens.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Suggests that this human-specific NOVA1 substitution may have been part of an ancient evolutionary selective sweep in a common ancestral population of Homo sapiens.
March 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
A humanized NOVA1 splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications 🏺🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Suggests that this human-specific NOVA1 substitution may have been part of an ancient evolutionary selective sweep in a common ancestral population of Homo sapiens.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Suggests that this human-specific NOVA1 substitution may have been part of an ancient evolutionary selective sweep in a common ancestral population of Homo sapiens.
A study in Nature Communications using humanized NOVA1 mice reveals its specific effects on splicing and vocalization. https://go.nature.com/3X7la2C
February 20, 2025 at 2:46 PM
A study in Nature Communications using humanized NOVA1 mice reveals its specific effects on splicing and vocalization. https://go.nature.com/3X7la2C
🧬 İnsanlara özgü NOVA1 proteini, farelerde sesli iletişimi değiştirmiş 🐭
🧬 🗣️ İnsan versiyonu, farelerin ses çıkarmasında farklı örüntüler oluşturmuş.
İnsan dilinin genetik anahtarını keşfettiler.
🔑 Sadece modern insanlarda bulunan NOVA1 geni, konuşma dilinin gelişimindeki rolünü açıklayabilir.
🧬 🗣️ İnsan versiyonu, farelerin ses çıkarmasında farklı örüntüler oluşturmuş.
İnsan dilinin genetik anahtarını keşfettiler.
🔑 Sadece modern insanlarda bulunan NOVA1 geni, konuşma dilinin gelişimindeki rolünü açıklayabilir.
A single protein may have helped shape the emergence of spoken language - News
How much does the evolution of human speech owe to one amino acid?
www.rockefeller.edu
February 19, 2025 at 5:49 PM
🧬 İnsanlara özgü NOVA1 proteini, farelerde sesli iletişimi değiştirmiş 🐭
🧬 🗣️ İnsan versiyonu, farelerin ses çıkarmasında farklı örüntüler oluşturmuş.
İnsan dilinin genetik anahtarını keşfettiler.
🔑 Sadece modern insanlarda bulunan NOVA1 geni, konuşma dilinin gelişimindeki rolünü açıklayabilir.
🧬 🗣️ İnsan versiyonu, farelerin ses çıkarmasında farklı örüntüler oluşturmuş.
İnsan dilinin genetik anahtarını keşfettiler.
🔑 Sadece modern insanlarda bulunan NOVA1 geni, konuşma dilinin gelişimindeki rolünü açıklayabilir.