With UFO sightings again making the headlines in these unsettling times, what we need right now is a thread on aliens, genes & the origins of human language. Buckle up. 1/n 
We discovered that rare mutations of FOXP2 cause a severe speech disorder. Over the years, I've spent much time stressing that FOXP2, while interesting, is not the mythical "gene for language". Weirdly, on occasion I've also had to explain why FOXP2 is not "proof of aliens". 2/n
One source of FOXP2-alien nonsense is a TV "documentary" series that aired on the History Channel. In the segment on FOXP2, a man named Giorgio Tsoukalos makes 5-6 statements about the gene, each of which is false. All packed into less than one minute's viewing. Let's dig in. 3/n
It begins badly, then heads downhill.
Tsoukalos: FOXP2 is a gene that was found in our nucleotides.
Reality: Like other genes, FOXP2 is made of nucleotides. That is, nucleotides are found in FOXP2, not the other way around. I'm being pedantic, but we're just getting started...4/n
Tsoukalos: FOXP2 is a gene that was found in our nucleotides.
Reality: Like other genes, FOXP2 is made of nucleotides. That is, nucleotides are found in FOXP2, not the other way around. I'm being pedantic, but we're just getting started...4/n
Tsoukalos: It is something that sets us COMPLETELY APART from any other animal.
Reality: Versions of FOXP2 are found in similar form in distantly related species; us, other apes, monkeys, rodents, bats, birds, reptiles, fish... This is a gene with a deep evolutionary history. 5/n
Reality: Versions of FOXP2 are found in similar form in distantly related species; us, other apes, monkeys, rodents, bats, birds, reptiles, fish... This is a gene with a deep evolutionary history. 5/n
Tsoukalos: Scientists have suggested that THAT GENE ALONE is responsible for language.
Reality: Fisher, Lai, Monaco (scientists who discovered FOXP2) "It must be emphasized that this is likely to be just one of many genes involved in speech & language"
annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.11… 6/n
Reality: Fisher, Lai, Monaco (scientists who discovered FOXP2) "It must be emphasized that this is likely to be just one of many genes involved in speech & language"
annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.11… 6/n
Tsoukalos: There is absolutely NO EVIDENCE OF ORIGIN, or that this thing somehow mutated from the animal kingdom towards us.
Reality: By sequencing FOXP2 in many species, scientists have traced its origins & the ways it changed over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. 7/n
Reality: By sequencing FOXP2 in many species, scientists have traced its origins & the ways it changed over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. 7/n
Tsoukalos: So this gene exists out of NOWHERE without ANY origin.
Reality: Are you even paying attention? The very first study of the human gene noted that it's also present in mice! There are only 2 protein-coding differences between human FOXP2 & its counterpart in chimp! 8/n
Reality: Are you even paying attention? The very first study of the human gene noted that it's also present in mice! There are only 2 protein-coding differences between human FOXP2 & its counterpart in chimp! 8/n
Tsoukalos: So my question is is it possible that this gene was given to us or grafted into us by extraterrestrials in the remote past?
Reality: [bangs head repeatedly against desk while quietly sobbing] 9/n
Reality: [bangs head repeatedly against desk while quietly sobbing] 9/n
Touskalos: The answer is YES!
Reality: The answer is no. But admittedly that is based purely on hundreds of studies of FOXP2, its evolutionary history over millions of years, its functions in species including humans, mice, bats, birds, fish + copious evidence-based research.10/n
Reality: The answer is no. But admittedly that is based purely on hundreds of studies of FOXP2, its evolutionary history over millions of years, its functions in species including humans, mice, bats, birds, fish + copious evidence-based research.10/n
The real story of FOXP2, & what it can & cannot tell us about human language, is complicated & fascinating, & it does not involve any extraterrestrials. If you want to learn more, some recent overviews of the science are: cell.com/current-biolog… & link.springer.com/article/10.375… 11/n
The History Channel isn't the only purveyor of FOXP2-alien hokum. In 2012 paranormalists announced possible discovery of extraterrestrial FOXP2 in a mysterious skull: "If confirmed, it will help prove the Starchild Skull is definitely not human."
Reader, it was not confirmed.12/n
Reader, it was not confirmed.12/n
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this thread, here's another that I prepared earlier. 13/13
