Scientists Discover Ancient “Language Switches” Hidden in Human DNA

University of Iowa Health Care researchers found that HAQERs, tiny genome regulatory regions, have an outsized impact on human language ability.

By tracing these sequences through evolutionary analysis, they found signals that date back tens of millions of years.

Similar patterns in Neanderthal DNA suggest the basic neural machinery for language predates modern humans.

The findings may help explain how genetics contributes to individual differences in language and brain development.