Scientists discovered the origin of singing mice
that use songs to communicate. This unique singing behavior - information will
help scientists to understand and identify genes that affect language in
humans.
Singing mice have tawny brown fur rodents instead
of the common white ones, they are found from tropical cloud forests in the
mountains of Costa Rica. Apparently, the song of the singing mouse song is a
rapid-fire string of high pitched chirps called trills, which are mostly used
by males in dominance displays and to attract mates, the journals Hormones and
Behaviour and Animal Behaviour report.
Up to 20 chirps are squeaked out per second,
however unlike birds, the mice generally stick to a song made up of only a
single note.
Phelps newest research project is responsible for
examining the genetic components that influence song expression. Centre stage
is a special gene called FOXP2.
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