matthew ridley presentation[1]
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Matt Ridley
Genes, technology and the evolution of cultureMonday 13 June, 7pm
XCortisol binds to receptor; Complex becomes transcription factor, blocking gene expression
Stressful experience
Illness
Nervous system
Cortisol
Immune system
Genes at the mercy of experience
Genes
Behaviour
Nature via nurture
The human revolution
The sudden expansion of the brain 200,000 years ago was a dramatic spontaneous mutation in the brain …a change in a single gene would have been enough. Colin Blakemore 2010
I think there was a biological change — a genetic mutation of some kind that promoted the fully modern ability to create and innovate. Richard Klein 2003
Genetics, changes in DNA can contribute and can trigger cognitive/cultural evolutionary events. Bruce Lahn 2011
The human revolution
Culture-gene co-evolution
Biology
Culture
LCT
Sarah Tishkoff
``Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to
drink beer’’
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Tishkoff et al 2007. Nature Genetics 39: 31.
Chromosome 2
``A noble countenance framed by a white beard,
and a pair of such expressive, sparkling blue
eyes’’Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg
OCA2
Hans Eiberg
Eiberg et al. 2008. Human Genetics, 10.1007/s00439-007-0460-x.
OCA2HERC2
rs12913832
26,039,213 A to G
Eiberg et al. 2008. Human Genetics, 10.1007/s00439-007-0460-x.
Loyau et al. 2007. Behavioral Ecology
Bright-tailed peacocks are sexier
Blue-ness of eyes
KAYS
ER, M
. (20
08).
Thre
e G
enom
e-w
ide
Ass
ocia
tion
Stud
ies
and
a Li
nkag
e A
naly
sis
Iden
tify
HER
C2 a
s a
Hum
an Ir
is C
olor
Gen
e. T
he A
mer
ican
Jour
nal o
f H
uman
Gen
etic
s
`Only one spot on the globe enables economically competitive grain production above the 55th parallel. ..Only circum-Baltic farmers could switch to a grain diet devoid of vitamin D, in a place where sunlight also lacked UV. And so, the extreme of the paleness adaptation is found only within 600 miles of this unique spot on earth.’
Sweet, F.W. 2002. The Paleo-Etiology of Human Skin Tone. Backintyme Essays
The spread of agriculture
People start farming
cereals near the Baltic
They get rickets – their
diet lacks vitamin D
Paler skinned people are healthier
Which is less sensitive with
an A->G mutation
Selecting any low-melanin
genotype
Such as having low tryosine in
cells
Which is made by OCA2
One of whose control
switches is in HERC2
A side effect of which is blue eyes
They live longer or get
more marriage offers
Tyrosine is transported by
P protein
FOXP2
Simon Fisher
I
II
III
1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9
2
11 12 13 14 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 19 20 21 22
5
8
10 15
10 11
23 24
1
*
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* *
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*
Lai et al. (2001) Nature 413: 519-23
The KE family
N CZnF LeuZ FOX AcidicPoly Q
nonsensemutation
R328X
missensemutation
R553H
CStranslocation
breakpoint
MUTATIONS IN DISORDERS
Lai et al. (2001) Nature 413: 519-23; MacDermot et al. (2005) AJHG 76: 1074-80
FOXP2 mutations
+/+ R552H/R552H
freq
uenc
y (k
Hz)
time (s)
UltrasoundAudible Click
Groszer et al. (2008) Curr Biol 18: 354-62
Slide courtesy of Prof Simon Fisher
Mouse pup vocalisations
Area X
Song-learningStereotactic injection of lentivirus
Song correctly imitated?
20
Max. 100% copy success
tutorsong: pupil’s song
Haesler et al. (2007) PLoS Biol 5: e321Slide courtesy of Prof. Constance Scharff
FOXP2 knockdown in songbirds
715 aaHuman
E N
Q
- T
D SNN C
CN714 aaMouse
Q
-
NTD716 aaChimp N C
When it comes to FOXP2 protein, a chimpanzee is more similar to a mouse than it is to a human….
Slide courtesy of Prof Simon Fisher
FOXP2 in primate evolution
Enard et al 2002. Nature 418:869
Amino-acid substitutions in the FOXP2 protein
FOXP2 in Neanderthals
Krause et al 2007: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982207020659
``Scientists say they have discovered the first gene tied to a language and speech disorder - a find that may bring the genetics revolution closer to identifying the biological roots of conscious thought and defining what it means to be human. ‘’ AP 4.10.01
``Human FOXP2 triggered changes in genes known to affect the growth of brain areas related to language and also, more generally, to higher thought.’’ BBC News, 13.11.09
Cause and effect
Opposable thumbs
Strong reciprocity
CultureLanguage
Religion
Tool making
Fire and cooking
Big brains
Cognitive reasoning
Cognitive fluidity
Symbolism
Deception
Upright stance
Throwing weapons
Forward planning
Incest taboo
Art
Grandparental care
External 4th trimester
Imitation
Extra spines on prefrontal cortex pyramidal cells
Spindle cells in anterior cingulate cortex
FireTools2 legs
Language
Exchange?
Chart by Nick Matzke: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/09/fun-with-homini.html
Descent with modification
• New ideas, often serendipitous
VinylCassettes
CDs
Digital
1975 1985 1995 2005
Succession and extinction
Variation
Replication
Competition
Gladyshev, Meselson, Arkhipova 2008. Massive horizontal gene transfer in bdelloid rotifers. Science 320:1210
Recombination
Sexualpopulation
Asexualpopulation
Cumulative evolution requires sex
`Asexual culture’?
Tai Forest chimpanzee
``No man ever saw a dog make fair and deliberate exchange of a bone with
another dog’’
Adam Smith 1776
Hybrid ideas
Reciprocity
Exchange
Exchange is NOT reciprocity
Comparative advantage
David Ricardo 1817
Adam takes 4 hours to make a spear and 3 hours to make an axe
Oz takes 1 hour to make a spear and 2 hours to make an axe
If Oz makes 2 spears
And Adam makes 2 axes
And they trade…Then they each save an hour of work
How long does it take to earn an hour of reading light?
Tallow candle 1800 – 6 hrs
Kerosene lamp1880 – 15 mins
Incandescent bulb1950 – 8 secs
CF bulb1997 – ½ sec
Labour cost of 1,200 lumen hours at average US wage
Nordhaus 1997
Maddison, The World Economy
People living on less than $1* a day
Pinkovskiy and Sala-i-Martin 2009* Adjusted for inflation
``We are confronted ... with a worsening of
poverty’’
Rio Declaration 1992
But are we healthier,happier, cleverer, kinder, cleaner,
freer, more peaceful, more equal?
Healthier
``US life expectancy will drop to 42 years by the
end of the century due to cancer epidemics.’’
Paul Ehrlich 1973
Happier
Pew Survey
Cleverer
IQ scores
BBC, ONS
Kinder
``By 1985 air pollution will have reduced the
amount of sunlight reaching the earth by
half.’’
Life Magazine 1970
Cleaner
Freer
More peaceful
More equal
Pinkovskiy and Sala-i-Martin 2009
Division of labour in nature
Farming as a division of labour – 3 species working for each other
Hadza
The sexual division of labour
The earliest evidence of trade
Bouzougar et al. 2007. PNAS 2007 104:9964-9969; Barton et al 2009 doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.03.010.
The stone axes of Mt Isa
http://arts.anu.edu.au/arcworld/resources/papers/mi/ancientminers.htm
Neanderthal localism
http://www.eva.mpg.de/evolution/staff/hublin/pdf/Hublin_Steele_2006_CurrAnth.pdf
Demography and innovation
Maori fishing tackle; Kline and Boyd 2010
Tasmania
Henrich 2004 American Antiquity
Tierra del Fuego
The collective brain
internet traffic : the Opte Project. Licensed under Creative Commons.
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