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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

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

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

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 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

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

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

ALL-IMPORTANT CONTEXT. "In other words, certain GP relationships are taxonomically robust and present across a large range of species. As underlined by multiple authors, genes and environment act jointly on the phenotype, and in most cases it is impossible to disentangle the effect of one from the other." (GP = genotype-phenotype relationship). https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend on the theme of genotype to phenotype conversion, or from DNA to observable traits. We have been immersed in the all-powerful theory of genes and destiny, but the truth is rather different. The radical conclusions we are arriving at today were completely unpredictable only 50 years ago. The phenotype is crafted from a combination of genes and the environment, often across diverse species, finding similar solutions in unrelated creatures. View in LinkedIn

RADICAL THINKING. "A major discovery of the past 20 years is that variation at certain genetic loci produce comparable phenotypic variation not only in various individuals of one population, but also in extremely diverse taxa." Contemplate this apparent radical heresy before moving on. https://lnkd.in/d3vzXnd View in LinkedIn