Individuality (Identity)

by dhw, Friday, May 22, 2015, 08:34 (3472 days ago)

GEORGE (under “Evolution: a different view”): This article reports research which suggests that variation within populations may itself be written in the genes, not just reactions against environmental changes.-https://www.quantamagazine.org/20150512-fruit-flies-individuality/?utm_source=Quanta+Ma...-This seemed to be the most appropriate thread I could find for this though I've not been following the arguments.-DAVID: Thank you for this wonderful article. The study into variability is exceedingly important, for several reasons. First it opens us up to the possible reason for some much variation in life forms and life styles. Secondly I think it is of importance as a mechanism for a group's survival. And thirdly, it is obvious if there were no variation, there would be no chance for evolution to be acted upon by natural selection.
"The animals' behavior varied much more than he expected, even when the flies were more or less genetically identical and raised under the same conditions. “If you hold genetics constant and the environment mostly constant, you still see a lot of variation,” de Bivort said.
"De Bivort and his team are now exploring this phenomenon in detail, hoping to discover what drives that unexpected individuality. He's found that different fly strains show different levels of variability. Some strains are like a troop of well-trained soldiers, with each fly mirroring its neighbor. Other strains resemble a wild group of dancers, with individuals moving to their own beat. By comparing soldier and dancer strains, de Bivort thinks he's identified both a gene and a neural circuit that may underlie some of these differences."
There is much more.-My thanks also to George.
 
The only thing that surprises me in this article is the fact that scientists themselves seem surprised that individual organisms behave differently. Yet again it is the arrogance of humans to assume that the less an organism looks like us, the more we can regard it as an automaton.
 
The authors try to trace differences to genetic factors. The article has nothing to do with innovation in evolution, and everything to do with behaviour - and exactly the same arguments could be applied to humans. To what extent is our behaviour regulated by our genes? That seems to be the burning question here, and so I'm putting it on a different thread.