Scientists have discovered the origin of intelligence after identifying a ‘genetic accident’ 500 million years ago when the genes that enabled humans to think and reason evolved.
Researchers led by the University of Edinburgh have discovered how humans — and other mammals — evolved to have intelligence.
They found that intelligence in humans developed as the result of an increase in the number of brain genes in our evolutionary ancestors.
Scientists also believe that the same genes that improved our mental capacity are also responsible for a number of brain disorders.
The researchers suggest that a simple invertebrate animal living in the sea 500 million years ago experienced a ‘genetic accident’, which resulted in extra copies of these genes being made.
This animal’s descendants benefited from these extra genes, leading to behaviourally sophisticated vertebrates — including humans.
“One of the greatest scientific problems is to explain how intelligence and complex behaviours arose during evolution,” Professor Seth Grant, of the University of Edinburgh, who led the research, said.
The research, which is detailed in two papers in Nature Neuroscience, also shows a direct link between the evolution of behaviour and the origins of brain diseases.
“This ground breaking work has implications for how we understand the emergence of psychiatric disorders and will offer new avenues for the development of new treatments,” said John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Wellcome Trust, one of the study funders.
The research team studied the mental abilities of mice and humans, using comparative tasks that involved identifying objects on touch-screen computers.
Researchers then combined results of these behavioural tests with information from the genetic codes of various species to work out when different behaviours evolved.
They found that higher mental functions in humans and mice were controlled by the same genes.
The study also showed that when these genes were mutated or damaged, they impaired higher mental functions.
“Our work shows that the price of higher intelligence and more complex behaviours is more mental illness,” Grant said in a statement.
“We can now apply genetics and behavioural testing to help patients with these diseases,” said Dr Tim Bussey from Cambridge University, which was also involved in the study.
Keywords: Human brain, origin of intelligence, genetic accident, genes, University of Edinburgh, intelligence, number of brain genes, brain disorders, psychiatric disorders, Professor Seth Grant, Nature Neuroscience, evolution of behaviour, John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Wellcome Trust, touch-screen computers, Dr Tim Bussey, Cambridge University,
Comments:
How many more accidents are we meant to believe in? This is
Intelligent Design. (That is not the same as Creationism BTW) The
Universe is one gigantic intelligence based machine. We see examples
of design in nature, for example Fibonacci numbers and 'The Golden
Ratio.' A greater intelligence gave us the intelligence we have.
There is first a collective grand consciousness, then comes individual
consciousness, then mind and finally the brain (the material existence
of all the other states of conscoiusness is the brain.)
Yeah! and the moon is made of swiss cheese.
University of Edinburgh must have the stupidest scientists on earth or
in fact in the whole universe. This is the result of adhoc research
without any theoretical knowledge. This is a classic case for a urgent
paradigm shift in science. Physics must immediately look foe an
axiomatic base for physics and cossmology lik Vedic science has done.
Space is dynamic for its components (certainly not Higgs) are in
perpetual harmonic oscillation or PHO for short. That provides the
driving potential for all so called forces starting from gravity and
on to nuclear forces in an integrated progressive mode. Right from
zero point energy to consciousness the PHO state (at the nascent
level) PHO state is the underlying dynamism and its variants in
myriads of mode provide the background potential for intelligence.
Space is constantly transmitting info that interpretted in some mode
is intelligence. see web "www kapillavastu dot com slash index dot
html" for mathematical details based on axioms.
So the capability for something to go wrong developed at the some time as
something developed that could go wrong.
I am astounded!
(How long did these scientists study this problem?)
As UnNatural Selection suggests, Intelligent Design was not discovered by the intelligent but by the same people who brought us the Noah's Ark theory of biology, the Dead Sea Scrolls version of Greek philosophy, the King David version of democracy, and the Star of Bethlehem version of cosmology. If we hadn't already invented public schools, the miracle of Intelligent Design would have forced us to invent them. Just as the Bible is a rationale for the seizure of Canaan, Intelligent Design is just aother attempt to seeize the discovery and inventions of science -- and the record of science in the Bible is a record of miracles to entertain the credulous and people without the genius of the gay Greeks. For the Creationists, sorry, it's back to the drawing board. How about a Jesus with a steady job?
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