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

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08).

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Ass

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Stud

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and

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Iden

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HER

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Hum

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Gen

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`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

*

* *

* *

**

**

*

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

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