First language gene identified

British scientists say they’ve discovered the first gene tied to a language and speech disorder, raising hopes that the genetics revolution is closer to identifying the biological roots of conscious thought and, perhaps, refining what it means to be human. CALLED FOXP2, the gene produces a protein that turns other genes on and off. Scientists believe it could hold the key to why people suffer from speech problems. It is not specifically a gene that enables us to talk. Instead, researchers say they discovered a mutated form of the gene, which is responsible for a protein that enables the brain’s language circuitry to function. “We have identified a way of getting at the pathways and neural networks involved in speech and language from a genetics point of view,” said study co-author Simon Fisher, a geneticist at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford. Because FOXP2 works with other genes and proteins, Fisher and his colleagues believe its identification could help unlock the molecular mysteries of speech.But even the researchers who located the gene say their discovery is just the beginning and caution it would be wrong to heap too many expectations onto the damaged version of a single gene.