The newly discovered gene that sets us apart from Neanderthals
Scientists believe this unique adaptation provided an evolutionary advantage. It enabled information sharing, coordinated activities, and knowledge transfer, setting us apart from extinct hominids like Neanderthals and Denisovans.
A study published in Nature Communications focuses on the NOVA1 protein, which is crucial for brain development.
Researchers used CRISPR technology to replace the mouse version of NOVA1 with the human variant.
The result: Altered vocalisations in the mice. Pups with the human variant squeaked differently when their mother approached, and adult males emitted distinct chirps in the presence of females.
Dr. Robert Darnell, an author of the study and a long-time researcher of NOVA1, believes this variant is among the genes that 'contributed to the emergence of Homo sapiens as the dominant species'.
Liza Finestack of the University of Minnesota, who was not involved in the study, agrees, calling it 'a good first step to start looking at the specific genes' influencing speech.
Future research building on these findings could potentially lead to breakthroughs in treating speech disorders.
This isn't the first time a gene has been linked to speech. In 2001, British scientists said they had discovered the first gene tied to a language and speech disorder.
Called FOXP2, it was referred to as the human language gene. But though FOXP2 is involved in human language, it turned out that the variant in modern humans wasn't unique to us. Later research found it was shared with Neanderthals.
The NOVA1 variant in modern humans, on the other hand, is found exclusively in our species, Darnell said.
The presence of a gene variant isn't the only reason people can speak. The ability also depends on things like anatomical features in the human throat and areas of the brain that work together to allow people to speak and understand language.
Dr Darnell hopes the recent work not only helps people better understand their origins but also eventually leads to new ways to treat speech-related problems.
Dr Finestack said it's more likely the genetic findings might someday allow scientists to detect, very early in life, who might need speech and language interventions.
'That's certainly a possibility,' she said.
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The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Neanderthals were not ‘hypercarnivores' and feasted on maggots, scientists say
For hungry Neanderthals, there was more on the menu than wild mammals, roasted pigeon, seafood and plants. Chemical signatures in the ancient bones point to a nutritious and somewhat inevitable side dish: handfuls of fresh maggots. The theory from US researchers undermines previous thinking that Neanderthals were 'hypercarnivores' who stood at the top of the food chain with cave lions, sabre-toothed tigers and other beasts that consumed impressive quantities of meat. Rather than feasting on endless mammoth steaks, they stored their kills for months, the scientists believe, favouring the fatty parts over lean meat, and the maggots that riddled the putrefying carcasses. 'Neanderthals were not hypercarnivores, their diet was different,' said John Speth, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan. 'It's likely maggots were a major food.' Neanderthals were thought to be top of the food chain because of the high levels of heavy nitrogen in their bones. Nitrogen builds up in living organisms when they metabolise protein in their food. A lighter form of the element, nitrogen-14, is excreted more readily than the heavier form, nitrogen-15. As a result, heavy nitrogen builds up in organisms with each step up the food chain, from plants to herbivores to carnivores. While the levels of heavy nitrogen in Neanderthal bones place them at the top of the food chain, they would not have been able to handle the amount of meat needed to reach those levels, the researchers say. 'Humans can only tolerate up to about 4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, whereas animals like lions can tolerate anywhere from two to four times that much protein safely,' said Speth. Since many Indigenous groups around the world routinely consume maggots in putrefied meat, the researchers decided to explore their potential role. The experiments were not for the squeamish. Dr Melanie Beasley, a member of the team at Purdue University in Indiana, was formerly at the Forensic Anthropology Center, or Body Farm, at the University of Tennessee. There, researchers study donated human corpses that are left to decompose. The work helps forensic scientists hone their techniques, for example, to ascertain for how long people have been dead. Beasley measured heavy nitrogen in putrefying muscle and the maggots that infested the corpses. Heavy nitrogen rose slightly as muscle putrefied, but was far higher in the maggots. The same process would have occurred in carcasses the Neanderthals stored, Beasley said. The finding, reported in Science Advances, suggests that rather than consuming meat as ravenously as lions and other hypercarnivores, Neanderthals acquired high levels of heavy nitrogen by eating maggots, which themselves were enriched with heavy nitrogen. 'The only reason this is surprising is that it contradicts what we westerners think of as food,' said Karen Hardy, professor of prehistoric archaeology at the University of Glasgow. 'Elsewhere in the world, a very wide range of things are eaten, and maggots are a great source of protein, fat and essential amino acids.' 'It is a no brainer for Neanderthals,' she added. 'Put out a bit of meat, leave it for a few days then go back and harvest your maggots, its a very easy way to get good nutritious food.' 'How does it shift our thinking? The Neanderthals as top carnivores was nonsense, it was physiologically impossible. So this makes sense, but also explains these high nitrogen signals in a way that nothing else has done so clearly,' Hardy said.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Neanderthals were not ‘hypercarnivores' and feasted on maggots, scientists say
For hungry Neanderthals, there was more on the menu than wild mammals, roasted pigeon, seafood and plants. Chemical signatures in the ancient bones point to a nutritious and somewhat inevitable side dish: handfuls of fresh maggots. The theory from US researchers undermines previous thinking that Neanderthals were 'hypercarnivores' who stood at the top of the food chain with cave lions, sabre-toothed tigers and other beasts that consumed impressive quantities of meat. Rather than feasting on endless mammoth steaks, they stored their kills for months, the scientists believe, favouring the fatty parts over lean meat, and the maggots that riddled the putrefying carcasses. 'Neanderthals were not hypercarnivores, their diet was different,' said John Speth, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan. 'It's likely maggots were a major food.' Neanderthals were thought to be top of the food chain because of the high levels of heavy nitrogen in their bones. Nitrogen builds up in living organisms when they metabolise protein in their food. A lighter form of the element, nitrogen-14, is excreted more readily than the heavier form, nitrogen-15. As a result, heavy nitrogen builds up in organisms with each step up the food chain, from plants to herbivores to carnivores. While the levels of heavy nitrogen in Neanderthal bones place them at the top of the food chain, they would not have been able to handle the amount of meat needed to reach those levels, the researchers say. 'Humans can only tolerate up to about 4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, whereas animals like lions can tolerate anywhere from two to four times that much protein safely,' said Speth. Since many Indigenous groups around the world routinely consume maggots in putrefied meat, the researchers decided to explore their potential role. The experiments were not for the squeamish. Dr Melanie Beasley, a member of the team at Purdue University in Indiana, was formerly at the Forensic Anthropology Center, or Body Farm, at the University of Tennessee. There, researchers study donated human corpses that are left to decompose. The work helps forensic scientists hone their techniques, for example, to ascertain for how long people have been dead. Beasley measured heavy nitrogen in putrefying muscle and the maggots that infested the corpses. Heavy nitrogen rose slightly as muscle putrefied, but was far higher in the maggots. The same process would have occurred in carcasses the Neanderthals stored, Beasley said. The finding, reported in Science Advances, suggests that rather than consuming meat as ravenously as lions and other hypercarnivores, Neanderthals acquired high levels of heavy nitrogen by eating maggots, which themselves were enriched with heavy nitrogen. 'The only reason this is surprising is that it contradicts what we westerners think of as food,' said Karen Hardy, professor of prehistoric archaeology at the University of Glasgow. 'Elsewhere in the world, a very wide range of things are eaten, and maggots are a great source of protein, fat and essential amino acids.' 'It is a no brainer for Neanderthals,' she added. 'Put out a bit of meat, leave it for a few days then go back and harvest your maggots, its a very easy way to get good nutritious food.' 'How does it shift our thinking? The Neanderthals as top carnivores was nonsense, it was physiologically impossible. So this makes sense, but also explains these high nitrogen signals in a way that nothing else has done so clearly,' Hardy said.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
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Our ancestors were CANNIBALS: Scientists discover grisly evidence ancient human species ate children 850,000 years ago
Ancient human ancestors ate small children 850,000 years ago, a gruesome discovery suggests. Archaeologists working at the Gran Dolina cave site in Atapuerca, northern Spain, have unearthed a human neck bone belonging to a child who died sometime between the ages of two and four. It features clear butchery marks, providing direct evidence the infant was decapitated and cannibalised, they said. The vertebra was found with other bones and teeth belonging to Homo antecessor - thought to be the last common ancestor of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. It was uncovered by a team from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), who have been excavating the site for over three decades. Nearly a third of all bones found in the cave so far have cut marks that suggest these early humans were cannibals. 'This case is particularly striking, not only because of the child's age, but also due to the precision of the cut marks,' Dr Palmira Saladié, co-director of the Gran Dolina excavation. 'The vertebra presents clear incisions at key anatomical points for disarticulating the head. It is direct evidence that the child was processed like any other prey.' Experts say it is unusual to find evidence of a child being eaten and - if their theory is true - the discovery marks the earliest evidence of the practice to date. Homo antecessor lived between 1.2 million and 800,000 years ago and were stockier and shorter on average than modern humans. Their brain sizes were roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cm³, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cm³ brains of people today. The species is believed to have been right-handed, making it different from other apes, and may have used a symbolic language, according to archaeologists. The site of the marks on the recently-discovered neck bone suggests the youngster was decapitated, the researchers said. Other adult bones recovered from the site show evidence of de-fleshing marks and intentional fractures, similar to those found on animal bones consumed by humans. 'The preservation of the fossil surfaces is extraordinary,' Dr Saladié told Live Science. 'The cut marks on the bones do not appear in isolation. Human bite marks have been identified on the bones — this is the most reliable evidence that the bodies found at the site were indeed consumed.' The new findings strengthen the idea that these early humans exploited their peers as a food resource, the team said. It could also have been a means of territorial control. The most recent Homo antecessor remains were discovered at 'Level TD6' of the excavation site, at least 4 metres (13 feet) below the surface. 'Every year we uncover new evidence that forces us to rethink how they lived, how they died, and how the dead were treated nearly a million years ago,' Dr Saladié said. Earlier evidence of cannibalism among early human relatives dates to 1.45 million years ago in Kenya. Some archaeologists suggest that before formal burials, human populations would eat the dead as part of a funerary ritual. 'What we are documenting now is the continuity of that behaviour: the treatment of the dead was not exceptional, but repeated,' Dr Saladié added. Previous examinations of skulls found at Cheddar Gorge, in Somerset, reveal early Britons were also cannibals and enjoyed drinking out of cups made form their victims' heads. The cups, which date back 14,700 years, were likely used to drink water or even blood. They may have been fashioned from the heads of vanquished enemies and used as trophies. It is also possible that they were by-products of 'crisis cannibalism' - the resorting to human flesh when little or no other food was available, the study, published in Plos One, said. To make the skull cups, the flesh and features were carefully stripped from the head, and the skulls fashioned into containers using flint 'razors' and cobble 'hammers'. WHO WERE THE HOMO ANTECESSORS? Homo antecessor is one of the earliest known varieties of human discovered in Europe, dating as far back as one million years ago. Believed to have weighed around 14 stone, Homo antecessor was said to have been between 5.5 and 6ft tall. Their brain sizes were roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cm³, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cm³ brains of modern humans. The species is believed to have been right-handed, making it different from other apes, and may have used a symbolic language, according to archaeologists who found remains in Burgos, Spain in 1994. How Homo antecessor may be related to other Homo species in Europe has a subject of fierce debate. Many anthropologists believe there was an evolutionary link between Homo ergaster and Homo heidelbergensis. Archaeologist Richard Klein claims Homo antecessor was a separate species completely, that evolved from Homo ergaster. However, others claim Homo antecessor is actually the same species as Homo heidelbergensis, who lived in Europe between 600,000 and 250,000 years ago in the Pleistocene era. In 2010 stone tools were found at the same site in Happisburgh, Norfolk, believed to have been used by Homo antecessor. Scientists believe that these early human species would breed with one another on a regular basis. Dr Matthias Meyer, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany said: 'The evolutionary history of archaic humans in the Middle Pleistocene was quite complex. 'It could be that both the ancestors of the Sima people and Denisovans interbred with another archaic group like Homo antecessor or Homo erectus.
