Can Culture Be Encoded in DNA? New Research Says "Yes"

[n2doc]

The "Nature versus Nurture" debate just got more complicated. (Well, even more complicated than the original "If you really think you can reduce all of biology to such a simplistic division you're missing pretty much every point involved" complication.) Birds have been observed reconstructing cultural information in complete isolation, meaning that culture can be genetically encoded.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists isolated a Zebra Finch, preventing it from learning the songs of its parents (and probably pissing off a bunch of PETA activists). These finches are known to learn their song from elder male relatives, which is why the scientists were surprised to see the same songs emerge from a colony of these utterly isolated birds.

They didn't get it right immediately. The first isolated bird, cut off from its culture, emitted a cacophonous screeching about as melodious as nails being dragged down a pieces of broken blackboard which were, in turn, being dragged down an even larger blackboard. It even tried to teach its kids the same, but they obviously thought "that sucks" (in bird) and made a few improvements. After four generations, the original finch songs reappeared, meaning that either

a) Cultural information can be genetically encoded or
b) Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has embarrassingly bad sound insulation.

We're going to assume a) for now.

more:

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/08/can-culture-be-genetically-encoded-new-research-says-yes.html

[phantom power]

1. My proposal: The song is a basin of attraction.

In other words, the song is not directly encoded, but the bird's neurology somehow makes the song a basin of attraction that a group of birds will eventually descend into.

[Xipe Totec]

2. That makes sense n/t

[glitch]

3. Very interesting. nt

[trotsky]

4. I believe you are correct.

If the song were directly encoded in DNA, it wouldn't have taken a few generations to bring it back - in fact, we'd expect the opposite: the first generation of birds raised apart would be close to the original song, but within 4 generations it could be unrecognizable.

[TZ]

5. ARRRGH. There IS NO nature vs nuture debate!!

That argument has been passe for YEARS now. All behavior is considered to have BOTH genetic and enviromental components which I think this study pretty much illustrates!
Stupid effing science writers who don't know anything about the topic.....

[Odin2005]

6. It's about pushing ideological buttons rather than fact.

Look how many on the right (like that AEI creep Charles Murray) twist evolutionary psychology to legitimize misogyny and racism and cutting welfare.