Re:Survival of the Prettiest
by busyant on Tuesday September 19, 2017 @07:08PM
(#15289532)
> Lamarckian theory that animals can pass on to their offspring traits that they acquired via their lifestyle. This was eventually proven false when we found no evidence that this is not how genetics actually works.
Lamarckian theory might not be _completely_ false. There is definitely epigenetic inheritance, in which traits (reflecting the state of a parent) can be passed on without being explicitly encoded by nucleic acid. Whether epigenetic inheritance is a stable-multi-generational way of transferring traits is a little up in the air. But I wonder if Lamarck will get a modicum of vindication from the biology textbooks in the long run.
That being said, epigenetic inheritance does not falsify evolution by mutation.
Re:Survival of the Prettiest
by ufo on Tuesday September 19, 2017 @07:42PM
(#15289674)
I tried to keep the comment short but yes, Lamarck does get too much off a bad rep nowadays. His theory wasn't on the mark but he played a big role in making evolution be an accepted theory in the first place.
Lamarckian theory might not be _completely_ false. There is definitely epigenetic inheritance, in which traits (reflecting the state of a parent) can be passed on without being explicitly encoded by nucleic acid. Whether epigenetic inheritance is a stable-multi-generational way of transferring traits is a little up in the air. But I wonder if Lamarck will get a modicum of vindication from the biology textbooks in the long run.
That being said, epigenetic inheritance does not falsify evolution by mutation.