| [ KAIST ] in KIDS 글 쓴 이(By): chopin (@ 쇼 팽 @) 날 짜 (Date): 2002년 8월 16일 금요일 오전 01시 02분 56초 제 목(Title): [news] speech 유전자연구 원숭이와 인간과의 유전자의 차이는 "거의"없다고 할정도로 미미합니다. 심지어는 고래와인간과의 유전자차이도 마주 미미할뿐 아니라 곤충들과의 차이도 생각보다 크지 않습니다. 아주 극소량의 유전정보에 의해서 원숭이와 사람의 차이를 만든다는 점에서 몇몇 유전자들의 차이가 원숭이와 인간의 차이를 만들고 있다고 여겨지고 있고, 그중에 대화능력에 대한 차이를 만들어내는 것으로 추정되는 유전자가 두개 발표되었습니다. 실제로 언어능력을 만들어내는 유전자가 한두개에 의해 결정될정도로 작다면 유전자조작에 의해 인간을 더욱 월등히 만드는 - 유전적으로 강화된 존재 (genetically enhenced species)는 - 흔히 상상했던 인간만의 문제가 아닙니다. 언어능력과 관련된 그 유전자가 여러가지 이유에서 - 바이러스나 인위적인 유전조작에 의해 - 원숭이 유전자에 주입되게 되면, 언어능력을 갖는 동물들과 지구상에서 공생해야되는 상상치도 못한 미래가 기다리고 있을 수도 있습니다. 동물과 인간을 지금까지 완전히 큰 문제없이 구분지으면서 인간을 우월한 위치에 놓았던건 순전히 인간과 동물간에 언어장벽이 대단히 커서 동물의 언어를 전혀 이해하지 못하고 있기 때문입니다. 대화능력을 갖춘 원숭이의 탄생은 이 많은 편견을 무너뜨리는 계기가 될 것입니다. 유전조작이라는 손에 쥐어진 능력이 더 커지는 만큼 더욱더 예측불가능한 미래로 질주합니다. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Study: Apes lack gene for speech Discovery helps explain why humans can talk the talk August 15, 2002 Posted: 10:38 AM EDT (1438 GMT) Although they can't speak like humans, gorillas and other great apes have their own forms of verbal communication and physical gestures. By Marsha Walton CNN Sci-Tech (CNN) -- A couple of changes in one gene about 200,000 years ago may be the reason apes still pound the ground -- and humans can recite poetry to communicate. Scientists identified a gene last year called FOXP2, the first to be directly linked to language ability. Researchers then studied the gene in humans, as well as in gorillas, chimps, orangutans and mice. They discovered a slight amino acid change in the human gene, which was not found in any of the other animals. That change may be a big reason humans developed the face and jaw structures, which make the profound capabilities of speech and language possible. Just how important is language to what makes us human? "It is perhaps the most important feature," said Wolfgang Enard, who detailed these findings in the online edition of the British journal Nature. "It makes culture possible. This ability to transfer knowledge has had the most impact on civilization," said Enard, who worked with Svante Paabo and others at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. While scientists worldwide labor to unlock the secrets of about 60,000 human genes, the case of FOXP2 includes a fascinating human element. Since 1990, a British family known only as "KE" has been the focus of intense study. Across three generations, about half of family members suffered from severe language and speech difficulties. Researchers found those KE family members with the drastic impairments did not have two normal copies of FOXP2. The one flawed copy, they believe, led to immobility of the lips, tongue, and mouth, which makes their speech garbled. They also have difficulty understanding language structure and grammar. FOXP2, like many genes, is a multi-tasker. It's not only important for speech, but has been shown crucial for lung development in mice, and is needed for brain development. Enard says the alteration of FOXP2 in humans likely became widespread between 120,000 and 200,000 years ago. It's during that time that anatomically "modern" humans developed. That suggests their growing language skills helped in the expansion and success of the human race. Different forms of communication Ancient speech and language didn't leave fossils, so there's a lot of speculation about how they progressed. As cooperation got more important, it's believed sign language developed, and was then replaced by speech as it became more flexible and efficient in communicating. Gorillas and other great apes have their own forms of verbal communication and physical gestures, says Dawn St. George, director of conservation education at the Zoologicial Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "They have facial, hand, and verbal gestures to communicate danger, or the discovery of a food source," said St. George, an expert in the field of popular genetics in great apes. She says gorillas that interact with humans develop additional gestures, including hugs and other signs of affection. But without the same physical structures as humans in the face, mouth, and larynx, says St. George, no amount of brain power will enable our nearest living relatives to talk. There's still great debate about the sounds and "languages" of other species, from dolphins and whales to parrots or songbirds. Enard said geneticists will be taking a deeper look at FOXP2, to find out what human FOXP2 does differently from other FOXP2s. There are not that many differences between the DNA of a human and a chimp, or even between a human and a whale. But, as knowledge of FOXP2 is revealing, even a tiny number of DNA mutations -- can lead to hugely important physical differences. source : http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/08/15/coolsc.speech/index.html __ 쇼팽 http://mobigen.com/~chopin |