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In mice, there has been a gene linked to key parenting skills. When it is silenced, mothers do not nurse or lick pups or defend them against intruders. Which gene performs similarly in female humans

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The gene that performs similarly in female humans is the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR).

Oxytocin is a hormone released in humans and animals during times of bonding, and it has been linked to parenting skills in mice and humans. Silencing of the oxytocin receptor gene has been found to interfere with mothering behaviors such as nursing, tending to pups, and defending babies from intruders.

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