Following modifications to the original plan, this lecture revisits important aspects of the evolution of the cortex and the mechanisms at work in this evolution. It also focuses on new technologies, including the use of induced stem cells (iPS) derived from somatic cells of chimpanzees, bonobos and sapiens. Still in the technological field, new genome-editing techniques are presented, mainly the CRISPR/CAS technique. Last but not least, cerebral organoid cultures are described, making it possible to "manufacture" cerebral structures in vitro from primate iPS. As far as language is concerned, the lecture returns to the FOXP2 gene and the importance of two exon 7 mutations that appeared shortly before our separation from the Neanderthals and which play an important role in motor control of the movements of the muscles of the oro-buccal cavity required for articulated language in recent hominins. The lecture then turns to a comparison of Neanderthal and Sapiens epigenomes . Drawing on the work of the Leipzig Anthropology Laboratory team headed by Svante Pääbo, it describes differentially methylated regions responsible for the expression of genes that control the development of bone and cartilage tissues involved in skeletal morphology, including the facial "skeleton". This work suggests major differences between sapiens and neanderthalensis, both in posture and in the language skills of the two hominin species.
17:00 - 18:30
