Could genetic engineering one day grant our pets the gift of speech?
Neuroscientist Erich Jarvis explores the biological foundations of vocal learning. This video examines how studying the evolution of birdsong and brain circuits might eventually allow us to engineer the ability to talk into other species.
At The Rockefeller University, Erich Jarvis leads the Jarvis Lab in investigating the complex neural pathways and genetic instructions that drive speech. By studying the evolution of brain circuits and the mechanics of birdsong, his research seeks to understand how human language emerged from simpler biological precursors.
The work focuses on the possibility of engineering vocal learning—the capacity for speech—into different species by manipulating the underlying genetic pathways and brain structures responsible for complex vocal behaviors.
Source: Can We Make Animals Talk? How Genetic Engineering Might Allow Our Pets to Speak
