Navigation Links
Songbird study from CSHL, CCNY provides concrete measure of biology's impact on culture
Date:5/3/2009

ned experiments in which these isolated singers passed on their song to their progeny, which in turn tutored the next generation, and so on. The tutors were either paired one-on-one with their progeny, or to mimic a more natural social setting, introduced into a colony of females (who, as it happens, do not sing) and allowed to breed for a few generations.

The team found that in either social setting, birds of every successive generation imitated their tutor's song but also modified it with small, systematic variations. These improvisations weren't random, however. Accumulating over generations, the introduced changes began to bring the innate, "isolate" song into approximate conformity with the song learned within normal zebra finch "society." (This "cultured" song has been labeled "wild-type" by the scientists.) By the 4th or 5th generation, birds that were descendents of the experimental "isolates" were singing songs that very closely resembled the song sung by birds raised under social conditions in the wild.

"What is remarkable about this result is that even though we started out with an isolated bird that had never heard the wild-type, cultured song, that's what we ended up with after generations," explains Mitra. "So in a sense, the cultured song was already there in the genome of the bird. It just took multiple generations for it to be shaped and come about."

"People have theorized long and hard about how the evolutionary process applies to culture," he says. "This experiment takes culture and puts it into a laboratory setting. We've tested some questions, asked by others over many years, in a mathematically and experimentally crisp manner and come up with a concrete answer."

Model motivations

What the results also mean, according to Mitra, is that the cultured song that's heard in the wild is the product of genes and learning a combination of innate song that would be learned even in isolation, and the effec
'/>"/>

Contact: Hema Bashyam
bashyam@cshl.edu
516-367-6822
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Source:Eurekalert

1

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. Migrating songbirds learn survival tips on the fly
2. Songbirds may hold key to advances in treatment of brain degeneration
3. Beavers: Dam good for songbirds
4. Childhood obesity indicates greater risk of school absenteeism, Penn study reveals
5. A study by the MUHC and McGill University opens a new door to understanding cancer
6. Study begins to reveal clues to the cause and progression of sepsis
7. Clones on task serve greater good, evolutionary study shows
8. New study warns limited carbon market puts 20 percent of tropical forest at risk
9. New study examines how rearing environment can alter navigation
10. Study links cat disease to flame retardants in furniture and to pet food
11. New continent and species discovered in Atlantic study
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/18/2013)... increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal ... research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW). ... the Cleveland Clinic Children,s Hospital found that obese ... compared to their lean counterparts. The pattern showed ... be correlated to potential complications associated with obesity, ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... the interaction of a group of proteins in the ... identified a new target that could increase cell survival. ... School of Biochemistry and published in the EMBO ... eventually lead to new therapies for stroke and other ... by the team which identified a protein, known as ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... An international team of scientists using ... cell movement inside a living frog embryo in greater ... method to advance biological research and the search for ... and the Karlsruher Institut fr Technologie in Germany, in ... Department of Energy,s Argonne National Laboratory, released the most ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health 2New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health 3SUMO wrestling cells reveal new protective mechanism target for stroke 2New X-ray method shows how frog embryos could help thwart disease 2
... Prospect, IL, USA, 05. October, 2011 Eurofins ... co-operation agreement to combine their expertise in sequencing ... organisms. Integrated Genomics, based in Mount Prospect, Illinois, ... tools and services based on the ERGO(tm) genome ...
... study, scientists explain how they used DNA to identify microbes ... oil spill -- and the particular microbes responsible for consuming ... played a key role in the way bacteria reacted to ... National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the results in ...
... To arrange for an interview with a researcher, please contact ... end of each tip. For more information on ORNL and ... our Media Contacts. If you have a general media-related question ... RACING -- Green checkered flag . . . ...
Cached Biology News:Scientists identify microbes responsible for consuming natural gas in Deepwater Horizon spill 2Scientists identify microbes responsible for consuming natural gas in Deepwater Horizon spill 3Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, October 2011 2Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, October 2011 3Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, October 2011 4
(Date:5/20/2013)... 2013 Recognizing exciting and innovative ... to its 2013 Class of Young Professors. ... provide this outstanding international group with more than ... science to meet global challenges.     , The DuPont ... young and untenured research faculty working in areas ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... In Early 2013, Dr. Ritchie ... related illnesses , announced his vision for creating a ... his protocol for treating Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). ... to achieve certification in the Shoemaker Protocol. , ... the Shoemaker Protocol in other parts of the country, ...
(Date:5/19/2013)... The JM Internet Group (web: jm-seo.org), a leader ... that the company's YouTube channel on SEO tips ... YouTube. The company uses YouTube as a way to ... for small businesses with much success. , "I love ... for their SEO strategies", explained Jason McDonald, director of ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... Mechanicsburg, PA (PRWEB) May 17, 2013 ... with ramp/soak capabilities. The 5R6-900 temperature controller has many ... can be plugged into the wall as a self-contained ... power supply. This distinctive detail makes the device unique, ... , The controller can also be used universally, which ...
Breaking Biology Technology:DuPont Celebrates Scientific Innovation by Recognizing Young Professors 2DuPont Celebrates Scientific Innovation by Recognizing Young Professors 3Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker Certifies Third Physician in His Treatment Protocol for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) 2YouTube Channel on SEO Tips Surpasses 175,000 Views, Announces JM Internet Group 2New Temperature Control Products Announced by Oven Industries Inc. 2
... 14 For 88 percent of,companies, front-line and ... cover a variety of development skills but focus,strongly ... Yet only half of executive-level sales leaders ... leadership development and,training, according to a member-driven research ...
... April 14 eResearchTechnology,Inc. (eRT), (Nasdaq: ... today their,alliance to provide integrated Cardiac Safety ... worldwide., eResearchTechnology is a leading provider ... other services,to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, ...
... Corporation,(Pink Sheets: PHCP) (the "Company") clarified today that ... connection with,market transactions and are a valid representation ... This clarification was issued in response to,information from ... firms,will not negotiate Phlo common stock certificates issued ...
Cached Biology Technology:Developing Sales Leaders: Benchmarks Reveal Tactics that Will Propel Your Business 2eResearchTechnology, Inc. and nSpire Health, Inc. Form Alliance to Deliver Integrated Cardiac Safety and Pulmonary Clinical Trial Services 2eResearchTechnology, Inc. and nSpire Health, Inc. Form Alliance to Deliver Integrated Cardiac Safety and Pulmonary Clinical Trial Services 3Phlo Clarifies That Pre-Reverse Split Certificates Are Negotiable in Market Transactions 2
Recalibration of HL-2000-CAL products...
Human HVEM/TNFRSF14 Allophycocyanin MAb (Clone 94801)...
Enodgenous alkaline phosphotase inhibitor. Levamisole solution is supplied in concentrated form (20x). The final concentration of levamisole in the substrate solution will be 1 mM....
X-gal,1g...
Biology Products: