Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học Minireview cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: Learning to get along despite struggling to get by. | Review Learning to get along despite struggling to get by Elizabeth A Ostrowski and Gad Shaulsky Addresses Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Rice University Houston TX 77005 USA. Department of Molecular and Human Genetics Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX 77030 USA. Correspondence Elizabeth A Ostrowski. Email ostrowski@ Published 26 May 2009 Genome Biology 2009 10 218 doi gb-2009-l0-5-2l8 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http 2009 l0 5 2l8 2009 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract How cooperation can evolve by natural selection is important for understanding the evolutionary transition from unicellular to multicellular life. Here we review the evolutionary theories for cooperation with emphasis on the mechanisms that can favor cooperation and reduce conflict in multicellular organisms. Altruism occurs when individuals behave in ways that reduce their own survival or reproduction and provide a fitness benefit to others. While it is often studied in the context of societies or animal behavior some of the most powerful examples in the biological world are found inside a multicellular organism. From apoptosis-induced suicide to the presentation of foreign antigens by cells that target them for death it is clear that the cells of a multicellular organism cooperate and behave altruistically. Less obvious however is how acts of selflessness can evolve by natural selection if they reduce the fitness of the individuals which perform them and how they persist despite the immediate benefits of behaving more selfishly. Social evolution addresses the benefits that cooperation among individuals provides and how it can be maintained in the face of opportunities to cheat. An important goal is to understand how potential conflicts are resolved to give rise to stable societies whether the society consists of a group of animals or the cells of a body 1-3 . Of course genetic variation is the
