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Time to kill the scientific zombie that is the 'nature vs. nurture' debate [phys.org]:

May 13, 2020

Time to kill the scientific zombie that is the 'nature vs. nurture' debate

A scientific article out of the University of Otago's Department of Zoology is calling for an end to the seemingly unkillable "nature versus nurture' debate, which the authors say creates damaging sways in the public's view of science.

Professors Hamish Spencer of Otago, and Marlene Zuk of the University of Minnesota, have had their views published today in the journal BioScience. Their article confronts the debate they liken to a zombie that is "nature v nurture," or put another way, that either your genes (nature) or your environment (nurture), dictate the outcomes in your life.

"The dilemma is particularly clear with regard to behavioral traits, such as intelligence or sexual orientation, where thinking that someone's genes or the environment they live in is the sole or main cause of their situation. This view can lead to flawed conclusions such as excusing bad behavior as inevitable because it is in the genes," says Professor Spencer.

The authors argue that, first, behavior is not special in its evolution but evolves in the same manner as other traits. Second, no trait, whether behavioral or otherwise, is caused by either genes or the environment or even by an additive combination of the two; the interaction is the important feature. Third, genes do not and cannot code for behavior or any other characteristic.

"What we mean by this is that the effect of genes depends on the environment, just as much as the effect of environment depends on the genes. For example, babies with two copies of a defective PAH gene cannot properly metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, which builds up in their bloodstream and eventually leads to severe intellectual disabilities. This condition, phenylketonuria (commonly known as PKU) occurs, however, only when the babies' diets contain phenylalanine; in its absence, babies develop quite normally. So, the effect of the PAH genes depends on the diet (the environment), but also the effect of the diet depends on whether or not the babies have two defective PAH genes," says Professor Spencer.

Professors Spencer and Zuk hope their views positively influence discussions around behavior and evolutionary biology.

"It's easy to say well, why does this matter? Could we not just let the zombie wander the landscape, shedding DNA like rotten body parts and moaning about inheritance? We think not. The zombie needs to die, because, otherwise, we continue to have fruitless debates about the inherent nature of sexism or of genius," Professor Spencer adds.

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Researchers find some of the genes responsible for differences in behavior between dog breeds [phys.org]More information: Marlene Zuk et al. Killing the Behavioral Zombie: Genes, Evolution, and Why Behavior Isn't Special, BioScience (2020). DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaa042 [doi.org]Journal information:BioScience [phys.org] Provided by University of Otago [phys.org]Citation: Time to kill the scientific zombie that is the 'nature vs. nurture' debate (2020, May 13) retrieved 13 May 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2020-05-scientific-zombie-nature-nurture-debate.html [phys.org] This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

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Chimp raised like a human child shows phalangeal curve is genetic [phys.org]:

May 12, 2020 report [phys.org]

Chimp raised like a human child shows phalangeal curve is genetic

A trio of researchers from the University of New Mexico, Harvard University and the University of Southern California has found evidence that suggests the curved phalange in apes is an inherited trait, not one that comes about from climbing. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Ian Wallace, Loring Burgess and Biren Patel describe their study of the skeletal remains of Suzy, a chimpanzee that was raised to behave like a human being back in the 1930s, and what they learned about phalangeal curvature in chimpanzees.

The hand and foot phalanges are the set of bones in humans and some other animals that make up the distal, middle and proximal parts of the fingers and toes (the bones past our knuckles). In most primates, the phalanges are curved, making it relatively easy to climb trees. In humans, the phalanges are straight—we long ago abandoned tree climbing. The difference between ape and human phalanges has led researchers to believe that the curvature comes about as a reaction to constant climbing. Prior research has shown that monkeys younger than five years old spend as much as 70 percent of their time in trees. In this new effort, the researchers tested this theory by studying the skeletal remains of Lucy, a highly domesticated chimpanzee.

Lucy was purchased as a baby chimp by Gertrude Lintz, an eccentric woman who raised a multitude of animals as if they were human back in the 1930s. Lucy wore clothes, walked upright, sat in chairs and slept in a bed. Climbing was strictly forbidden. In examining her hand and foot phalanges, the researchers found them to be just as curved as with chimpanzees in the wild—despite the fact that she never climbed trees. The researchers suggest this is strong evidence of heredity as a major factor in the phalangeal curve despite their sample size of a single individual chimp.

The researchers suggest their findings may force scientists to rethink theories of human descent from the trees—it would have taken a lot longer than previously believed to adjust to living on the ground if the phalangeal curve took multiple generations to straighten.

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Study shows changes in anatomy would have made walking easier without reducing muscles for climbing in early hominins [phys.org]More information: Ian J. Wallace et al. Phalangeal curvature in a chimpanzee raised like a human: Implications for inferring arboreality in fossil hominins, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004371117 [doi.org]Journal information:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [phys.org]

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Citation: Chimp raised like a human child shows phalangeal curve is genetic (2020, May 12) retrieved 13 May 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2020-05-chimp-human-child-phalangeal-genetic.html [phys.org] This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

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