Month: September 2022

TOO SIMPLE. "Under the classical scheme, a mutation is compared to a wild-type reference, and its phenotypic effects are used to infer gene function. This framework often leads to a semantic shortcut: from a genetic change causing a variation in phenotype, it is often convenient to assimilate the corresponding gene as a causal determinant of a trait." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

OVERSIMPLIFIED CARTOON. "It is common to find headlines expressing these simplifications, trumpeting to wide audiences the discovery of the “longevity” or “well-being” gene, that sacrifice scientific accuracy to psychological impact." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

THE NUT. "What these over-simplified formulations truly mean is that variation at a given gene causes variation in a given phenotype." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

THE FALSISM. "In fact, a gene alone can neither cause an observable phenotypic trait, nor can it be necessary and sufficient to the emergence of observable characteristics." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

THE TRUISM. "Genes need a cellular environment, the combined action of multiple other genes, as well as certain physico-chemical conditions to have an observable effect on organisms." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

A SYMPHONY NOT A SOLIST. "For example, brown hair pigmentation in one human being is not just a product of the genes coding for pigment synthesizing enzymes but also of the presence of cells producing pigments of relevant substrate molecules (such as tyrosine for melanin), and of the amount of received sun light." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

AN INTEGRATED WHOLE. "Thus, the genetic reductionist approach, which only explores a few genetic parameters among the variety of causal factors, is vain to fully address the broad question of what makes hair brown, of what brings forth a particular biological structure, or process in its entirety." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

ONLY A TOOL. "Nevertheless, genetic reductionism can be perfectly appropriate for identifying genetic loci where a change causes a phenotypic difference." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

MULTIFACTORIAL CONSEQUENCES. "A difference in hair color between two individuals could be due in some cases to their genetic difference. We note, however, that not all phenotypic changes can be attributed to genetic changes. A difference in hair color could also be caused by non-genetic factors such as age, intensity of solar radiation or hair dyeing, or by a combination of both genetic and non-genetic differences." https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

SLEIGHT OF HAND. "Alfred Sturtevant formulated the question of the GP map in simple terms: “one of the central problems of biology is that of differentiation – how does an egg develop into a complex many-celled organism? That is, of course, the traditional major problem of embryology; but it also appears in genetics in the form of the question, How do genes produce their effects?” (GP = genotype-phenotype relationship). https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn