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LAMARCKISM. “Darwin’s theory of evolution was based on natural selection but in many writings he accepts the idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Darwin never quarreled with Lamarck about that question. Transmission of cellular somatic changes that are transmitted to the germline presented problems for Darwin. What passes through the germline to the next generation, for Darwin, is very close to what we have found with epigenetic mechanisms today.” https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

DIRECTIONAL EVOLUTION. “I challenge the extent to which things are purely random. Subtle constraints may not be seen at the molecular level. These are the constraints from the environment and the constraints from the history of the organism.” https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

MULTILEVEL SELECTION. Selection works through death and life. What survives is what is selected for, what is let to die, disappears. The process of dying is not actually the function of genes. It seems to me to be blindingly obvious that selection itself is also occurring at the level of the organism. But the same point can apply to populations. Populations are in competition and some survive and others do not. It is things that live and die that are the target of evolution. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

MORE THAN JUST GENES. Selection can occur at any level, not just at the level of the gene. The gene is not the only level of selection, which can happen at multi-levels. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

HARNESSING RANDOMNESS. We have to rethink the question of blind stochasticity. Stochasticity is completely compatible with functionality at a high level. Stochasticity can be harnessed by organisms to generate desired functionality in response to stress in the environment. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

TARGETED MUTATION gives functionality at a high level, while gene level mutations are random. Organisms can respond in functional ways to environmental change. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

CONSIDERABLE BACKUP SYSTEMS. Bacteria can show rapid evolution of genome changes in response to unfavorable chemotherapy drugs and antibiotics, and very rapid (4 day) restoration of flagella in bacteria after relevant regulatory gene deletion. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

EPIGENETIC FACTORS. Organisms can respond to stress in the environment by reorganizing genomes, so the genome is a highly sensitive organ of the cell, responding to unexpected events often by restructuring the genome. Great chunks of genetic material (mobile genetic elements) move from one chromosome to another in response to environmental stress. Whole domains of chromatin proteins have moved around, creating new functionality by combining gene functionalities. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

DUAL STATES. Stochasticity (randomness) necessarily coexists with functionality and they exist at different levels. Random mutation followed by natural selection plus targeted functionality generated from random behavior is the coexistence. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn

TARGETED HYPERMUTATION. Genome reorganization does occur in response to stress by targeted stochastic mutation as in the case of targeted somatic hypermutation in immune cells, where the hypervariable gene region only on immunoglobulin, which mutates hugely (100,000 to 1,000,000 fold change) in response to stress. Imports directionality while using stochasticity. https://lnkd.in/eBKWC7d View in LinkedIn