Scientists prove how genetics change behavior by studying worms’ foraging strategies

In order to study why organisms pay attention to what other members of their species are doing, scientists set out to understand how animals are incorporating social information into their behavior. A recent study pinpoints genome variations that allow animals to use information about their competitors to modify their innate strategies for searching for food. These findings provide concrete evidence for game theory, which suggests, among other things, that population density changes how individuals act.