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In the follow-up to his bestseller, Genome, Matt Ridley takes on a centuries-old question: is it nature or nurture that makes us who we are? Ridley asserts that the question itself is a "false dichotomy." Using copious examples from human and animal behavior, he presents the notion that our environment affects the way our genes express themselves. Ridley writes that the switches controlling our 30,000 or so genes not only form the structures of our brains but do so in such a way as to cue off the outside environment in a tidy feedback loop of body and behavior. In fact, it seems clear that we have genetic "thermostats" that are turned up and down by environmental factors. He challenges both scientific and folk concepts, from assumptions of what's malleable in a person to sociobiological theories based solely on the "selfish gene." Ridley's proof is in the pudding for such touchy subjects as monogamy, aggression, and parenting, which we now understand have some genetic controls. Nevertheless, "the more we understand both our genes and our instincts, the less inevitable they seem." A consummate popularizer of science, Ridley once again provides a perfect mix of history, genetics, and sociology for readers hungry to understand the implications of the human genome sequence. --Therese Littleton
 Customer Reviews 
Clarifying ideas!!!
Rating: 5
If you are looking for a pleasant reading with clear ideas about what is more important between biological and social influences, this is the right book. I also recommend this book for non-evolutionary researchers!!!
An interesting, light read
Rating: 4
In "The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture" (previously published as "Nature via Nurture") Matt Ridley explores how the modern understanding of the genome recasts the boundaries of the age-old nature versus nurture debate. Nature versus nurture is a long, intense and often highly charged, intellectual debate but Ridley shows it to be a false dichotomy. The two sides are not mutually exclusive. Genes (on the nature side of the equation) enable the acquisition of environmental influences (nurture) and the environmental influences in turn exert their effects by changing the patterns of gene expression. Ever since the work of Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod at the Institut Pasteur on the genetic control of enzyme synthesis in E. coli bacteria, it has been appropriate to think about genes in terms of 'switches'. Jacob and Monod had shown that in the absence of lactose (a milk sugar) the E. coli bacterium does not bother to produce the enzyme which processes lactose. This is because the gene for that enzyme is effectively turned off by what's called a `repressor protein'. However, in the presence of lactose this repressor protein is inactivated and the gene in question begins to churn out the required enzyme. This work showed that the control of gene expression could be tuned by the bacterium's environment. The gene was not just a template for the production of proteins - it was also a switch. As the psychologist Gary Marcus has pointed out, genes function like IF-THEN lines of code in a computer program. The IF refers to the regulatory portion of the gene and THEN refers to the protein template region.
Ridley's book is an interesting historical look at the nature-nurture debate and how either one or the other extreme has waxed and waned in popularity - from Francis Galton and the eugenics movement to the ideological blank slate views of 20th century social scientists to modern developments in evolutionary psychology which attempt to balance the debate and bring it in line with our current knowledge of how genes work. He also discusses some of the most interesting findings to emerge from the study of the genome, particularly as these findings pertain to issues of behavioral genetics. This includes an overview of the CREB genes which are necessary for the modification of neural circuits in learning and memory, the FOXP2 gene whose mutation in humans has been implicated in the development of language, the role of the BDNF gene in neuroticism and many others. The writing is accessible to a general audience as it does not delve into the biochemical details of how these genes perform their work but rather discusses the implications of the findings. Ridley also lightens the reading with anecdotal details about some of the scientists involved and the ways in which some of the discoveries were made.
As in "The Genome", Ridley appears to stumble a bit when he attempts to discuss the really big philosophical issues like free will. His attempt to explain how genes enable free will is not convincing and the argument that he tries to make does not seem all that clear even to Ridley himself. It is also of some interest that Ridley, like several others, paints Freud as an 'environmentalist'. The extent to which Freud's was a blank slate world is certainly debatable. The historian of science, Frank Sulloway, in his book "Freud, Biologist of the Mind" shows how Freud was far less of a `blank slater' than some might think.
All in all Ridley's book is a light and highly accesible read on an interesting and still controversial topic. It is a bit skimpy on the details and it is far from being an exhaustive treatment on the subject but as far as popular science writing is concerned, it is recommended.
Deception
Rating: 3
I am disapointed that this book was retitled from the original book - Nuture Via Nature. We bought both books only to discover they are the same book. Amazon should have made this change in title clear. The book is excellent by the way and should be a must read for anyone interested about this topic.
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