Publications in plain English

For each of the primary research papers coming from our lab, we will provide an infographic which summarises the main conclusions from the paper. Each infographic is followed by a link from which you can download a one-page summary describing the aims of the paper and its main findings.

All our publications are open access so, if after reading the summary you would like to read the full paper, you can find a link on our publications page

March 2015 - Investigation of the Robinson Crusoe Population

In this study, we looked at genetic variation in a particular population of people affected by language impairment. This population live on the Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile.

In this study, we found a change in the genetic sequence that was particularly common in people living on the Robinson Crusoe Island. The bluer the country, the more common the variant. The numbers under the country show the percentage of the population estimated to carry the variant.

More importantly, we found that this variant was particularly common in inhabitants of the Robinson Crusoe Island who were affected by language impairment.

A more detailed description of the study and it's findings can be downloaded here.

January 2015 - Amount of rearranged DNA in children affected by SLI

In this study, we measured the level of DNA reorganisation in children affected by SLI and their family members and compared it to members of the general population.

We found that:

• Children affected by SLI had more DNA rearrangements than the general population ([a] compared to [b]).

• Family members of affected children also had more rearrangements ([a] compared to [c]).

• We found that this was true even when the family members did not have speech and language difficulties themselves ([a] compared to [e]).

Amount of rearranged DNA in individuals affected by SLI and their family members.

The length of the DNA strand represents the average amount of rearranged DNA in the group shown.

The number above shows the number of base pairs of DNA that is rearranged.