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Published online 31 December 2001 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news011227-10
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Squeak first
Mouse communication suggests language has deep roots.
The squeaks made by baby mice in the nest are similar to some human infant sounds, new research suggests, hinting that linguistic communication may be based on mechanisms that evolved long ago.
Gunter Ehret and Sabine Riecke of the University of Ulm, Germany, recorded the wriggling calls baby mice emit when struggling to reach their mother's teat or falling out of the nest.
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