Ecologically linked adapted ants and brains

By: James V. Kohl | Published on: April 25, 2014

Ants Swarm Like Brains Think

A neuroscientist studies ant colonies to understand feedback in the brain.
By Carrie Arnold April 24, 2014
Excerpt: “The behavior of each individual in the group is set by the rate at which it meets other ants and a set of basic rules. Its behavior alters that of its neighbors, which in turn affects the original ant, in a classic example of feedback. The result is astonishing, complex behavior.”
My comment: The molecular mechanisms of nutrient-dependent intracellular, intercellular, and extracellular signaling appear to be conserved in species from microbes to man. In ants, the mechanisms are pheromone-controlled. If no other organism on this planet supports representations that mutations are somehow responsible for evolution, what could explain the lack of acceptance for the scientific truth?
Ecologically linked variation results in nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled ecological adaptations via conserved molecular mechanisms.  Ecologically linked changes in nutrient-dependent morphology and pheromone-controlled species-specific behaviors does not seem like a difficult concept to grasp. That means it is time for those who cannot seem to grasp it to explain why they think mutations, or anything else, might be responsible for the behavior of any organism.
Odor memories regulate olfactory receptor expression in the sensory periphery of honeybees. It is unlikely that any other regulatory mechanisms cause differences in morphology and behavior in other model organisms, especially ants. Thus, the fact that “…olfactory receptor expression is experience-dependent and modulated by scent conditioning…” is one that should be considered in the context of the mechanism that appears to underlie the plasticity of signaling that involves nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled changes in the microRNA/messenger RNA balance, DNA methlylation, and RNA-mediated amino acid substitutions that differentiate the cell types of individuals in species from microbes to man.
If others consider the possibility that mutations somehow cause controlled changes in morphology or behavior in any organism, they should provide reasons for such considerations so that their reasoning can be compared to what is known about biological facts that link ecological variation to ecological adaptation in all species.
Signaling Crosstalk: Integrating Nutrient Availability and Sex (microbes)
Feedback loops link odor and pheromone signaling with reproduction (vertebrates)
Nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled ecological adaptations: from atoms to ecosystems (viruses to whales and humans)


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