For centuries, scientists have wondered what makes human speech unique. Why can we hold conversations while our closest relatives, like Neanderthals, could not? New research may have uncovered a key piece of the puzzle—a tiny genetic change that exists in modern humans but not in our extinct relatives.
New research centers on a brain protein called NOVA1, which plays a crucial role in how nerve cells process information. Researchers at The Rockefeller University have discovered that a single...