Daily Briefing: Thurs.

PARTS OF SPEECH: Chimpanzees can learn sign language and even make up their own words, and they're humans' closest genetic relatives — so why can't they talk? Scientists have long believed the secret to human speech lies within the gene called FOXP2, and now a new study of its human and chimp versions has the scientific community talking up a storm. Published Wednesday in the online edition of the journal Nature, the study by UCLA and Emory researchers reveals some key differences between the human and chimp variants of FOXP2, which is found in all animals and does nothing but switch on and off 116 other genes. Some ancient human ancestor developed a useful mutation in FOXP2 that began spreading around the gene pool, and to better understand how this led to human language, the researchers implanted the chimp version of FOXP2 into human neurons in a petri dish. While the results confirmed many of their suspicions about how the gene commands other genes, they were surprised to find that the chimp version had a more forceful effect on human neurons than the human version does. "The human FOXP2 seems to be acting on a more refined set of genes," one of the study's authors says. (Sources: New York Times, Associated Press, e! Science News, Wired, U.S. News & World Report)

 

FOR THE BIRDS: The brown pelican is coming off the endangered species list, federal officials announced Wednesday, marking a happy ending to a century-long battle for survival that began under President Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt set up the first national wildlife refuge at Florida's Pelican Island to protect the species, which is an icon on coastlines from California to Carolina and serves as Louisiana's state bird. Overhunting was a serious threat during the early 20th century, but perhaps the biggest hit came from DDT, an insecticide widely sprayed for mosquito control after World War II. DDT accumulates as it moves up the food chain, and by the time it reaches large birds like pelicans and eagles, the concentration is so strong that it softens their eggshells, leading to premature cracks that kill the chicks inside. But DDT was banned in 1972, and combined with improved habitat protection, that helped spur pelicans' hard-fought comeback. "In many ways, the brown pelican stands as a symbol of our nation's struggle to protect and conserve our wildlife," said assistant Interior secretary Tom Strickland at Louisiana's Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday. (Sources: Los Angeles Times)

 

CAPE CODLESS: Atlantic cod offer one of the classic examples of overfishing, with populations off the North American coast still suffering from a collapse in the early 1990s, but frantic fishermen aren't the species' only threat. A new federal study suggests that steadily warming seawater is pushing remaining cod populations farther north, along with haddock, winter flounder and other cool-water fish that still support major fishing industries in New England. Of 36 fish stocks examined by NOAA biologists, 24 had begun moving north in unison with rising water temperatures that have been occurring since the '70s. If the trend continues, the researchers predict, New England fishermen may soon be bringing in mostly croaker, red hake and summer flounder, which are normally found farther south, instead of their more typical catch. "Fishermen are businessmen, so if they have to go farther and deeper to catch the fish that we like to eat, eventually it won't be economical to do that," says one of the study's authors. "It just won't be in your local seafood store, or maybe it'll be more expensive." (Source: AP)

 

AN ANGRY GOD (PARTICLE): First we were worried that the Large Hadron Collider would create miniature black holes and destroy the Earth. Then there was the concern that time-traveling "God particles" would return from the future to prevent their own discovery. And last week, the $10 billion machine fell under attack from above, when a passing bird randomly dropped a piece of bread into its machinery, shutting it down. Now, after a year of delays that has made the collider seem cursed, it's back on track to restart operations this month, CNN reports. That will involve circulating a super-energized proton beam around its 17-mile tunnel, which scientists hope will unveil the never-before-seen Higgs boson — aka the God particle — and help answer some of our most intriguing questions about matter and the nature of the universe. But first, the physicists running it need to stop its barrage of bad luck. "It's a horribly complicated piece of equipment, [and] it's not like there's not going to be problems along the way," says one Cal-Tech physicist. "They will surmount those problems." (Source: CNN)

 

HOLD THE PHONE: Using cell phones and cordless phones has a biological effect on the brain, a new Swedish study has found, and while it's not necessarily a harmful effect, the researchers urge caution in mobile-phone use, especially among children and teenagers. The blood-brain barrier, a fluid lining that protects the brain from outside influences, starts to fill up with more of a protein called transthyretin the more someone talks on cell phones, thanks to microwave radiation from the wireless devices. This might not cause any health problems, but the possibility alone is at least cause for caution, the researchers say, pointing out that phone users themselves also reported health problems that may be phone-related. "The connection was strongest regarding headaches, asthmatic complaints and impaired concentration," one of the researchers says. "But more research is needed to exclude the effects of other factors and sources of error, even though it is difficult to see how this connection could be fully explained by such factors." (Source: ScienceDaily)

 

— Russell McLendon