Animals also learn but smarter are not necessarily better (Part 2)

The reverse experiment shows that intelligence does not guarantee survival. Dr. Kawecki said: 'We feed a number of fruit fly populations and then reproduce up to 30 generations with a nutrient-poor food source for them to adapt and grow better. We then questioned their learning ability. The result is a declining learning ability. '

Study ability not only harms fruit flies when they are young. In an article published in Evolution, Kawecki and colleagues published the results of their fast-learning flies having a 15% shorter lifespan than flies without experimenting with bitter medicated jelly. Flies in the long-term experiment have reduced their learning ability by 40% compared to normal flies.

Kawecki said: 'We don't know what this mechanism is.'

From another experiment, he and his colleagues found that too much learning was harmful. They teach some flies to learn quickly to get used to strong tremors."These flies die up to 20% faster than others with the same genome but are not arrested."

Forming a connection between neurons can cause negative consequences. It is also possible that genes that encourage learning to grow faster, survive longer have caused change.

Dr. Dukas said: 'We use computer memory almost for free, but bio-information has its price. He added that the price that Dr. Kawecki mentioned was not the animal's unfavorable situation. 'It means starting a life without any experience in hand'.

When the bird leaves the nest, it takes time to learn how to find food and avoid enemies. As a result, they are prone to starvation and are eaten. Dr. Dukas argues that learning evolves to a higher level only when it is an effective way to react to the environment rather than automatic responses.

He said: 'Based on the information about the time and place is very good'. Some bees only live on a certain flower. They can be found in a lot of encryption thanks to automated instructions. Other bees adapts to a variety of flowers, each with a distinct bloom season. Learning can be an effective strategy in such cases.

Scientists have done some research to test this idea. One of them was published by the University of London scientists this year. That study showed that fast-growing honey bees obtained 40% more nectar than slow learning groups.

Dr. Kawecki thinks that each species evolves until it reaches a balance between benefits and the consequences of learning . His experiment proved that fruit flies have a genetic ability to become smarter in wild environments. But only in laboratory conditions does evolution really develop in that direction. In nature, any progress in learning brings huge consequences.

Dr. Kawecki and Dr. Dukas agree that scientists need to specify this compromise, they will have to assess the importance of learning in the life of each species. When it comes to understanding, science will understand more about human learning skills.

'Humans have reached a peak,' Dukas said, about both species' ability to learn as well as the price of that ability. The total size of the human brain requires consuming up to 20% of the total energy at rest. The infant's brain is so big that it can hide the risk for both the mother and the newborn baby. While babies are so small that they are completely helpless to cure. People take years to learn to be independent.

According to Dr. Kawecki, it is valuable to find out if people have to pay a price that has not been disclosed when studying at a high level. ' From here we can deduce that some diseases are a byproduct of intelligence' .

The benefits of learning are certainly great for the evolutionary process to overcome all consequences. With many species, learning primarily helps them find food or a mate. But people live in a complex society so learning brings a lot of benefits.

Dr. Kawecki said: 'If you use your intelligence to become superior, it will form a race. Although there is no absolute optimal limit, you must be better than others'.

- Part 1 -