Erich Jarvis is investigating the genes and molecular mechanisms underlying neural circuits related to learned vocal communication. Understanding the nervous system’s anatomical and functional pathways for information processing is critical to explaining complex behaviors such as singing and speaking. By unraveling aspects of vocal learning in birds and mammals, Jarvis and his team hope to shed light on speech disorders in humans and help restore some voices silenced by disability or disease.
Twenty years after scientists first reported reading the human genome, the Telomere-to-Telomere consortium has now unveiled a complete version. Their work uncovered hundreds of new genes and opens the door to new insights into evolution and disease. A bold project to read the complete genetic sequences of every known vertebrate species reaches its first milestone by publishing new methods and the first 25 high-quality genomes. Only a few animals, such as songbirds, whales, and dolphins, are known to be vocal learners, modifying the sequence or pitch of their sounds based on what they hear from other members of their species. New evidence suggests mice can be added to that list.