The gene, called NOVA1, carries instructions for a protein that plays a crucial role in brain development by binding to and regulating genetic material called RNA in neurons. Among other functions ...

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.

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.

A specialist in how RNA binding proteins modulate gene expression, Darnell has been researching NOVA1 since the early 1990s, when he and his colleagues first identified it as the trigger of a ...

He was interested in a different gene called NOVA1, which he has studied for over two decades. NOVA1 is active in the brain, where it produces a protein that can affect the activity of other genes.

Organoids with the ancient NOVA1 gene also appear to mature more quickly and remain smaller than their modern counterparts, Muotri says. "The neurons start to get more active at very early stages ...

A new study has revealed that a single genetic mutation, found in all modern humans but absent in Neanderthals and Denisovans, could have played a role in the evolution of speech and language. The ...

In a new study, published Tuesday (Feb. 18) in the journal Nature Communications, researchers used CRISPR gene editing to tweak the genomes of mice so they possessed the human version of NOVA1.

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 ...