Lamarckian Bitch Slaps As Darwin's 200th Birthday Approaches

Lamarckian Bitch Slaps As Darwin's 200th Birthday Approaches
by Lee J. Keller

subtitle: Acquired Characteristics and The Giraffe's Neck of Preventative Therapy.

Just in time for Darwin's 200th birthday (Feb. 12th) we have a resurgence of Lamarckian proportions. Begley writes an interesting Science column in the most recent edition of Newsweek that includes some interesting ideas. (Sadly my opinions of this and the comments here are my own and cannot be attributed to Ms. Begley).

In Darwin's theory of evolution a number of postulates are framed around the importance of natural selection and the idea that genetic changes to DNA structure (ie traits that get passed on to following generations and/or offspring) occur over long periods of time primarily through mutations. Because of the nature o f this, evolution is thought to take a long period of time with gradual changes eventually being expressed.

Of course there are a number of other ideas that have been proposed, such as Gould's notion of punctuated equilibrium that attempts to explain jumps in the fossil record as being possibly sudden changes in evolutionary history due to some sort of severe pressures in the adaptation of a species.

Then of course there was Lamarck, a contemporary (sort of) explanation to Darwin's theories at the time, that posited that acquired traits could be passed on to offspring, which was not a very Darwinian idea. As Begley points out in her Newsweek column, there is some interesting research going on that is beginning to show that some acquired traits might indeed be passed on.

Specifically, she mentions mice studies that passed on an unusual fur color to the next generation, and studies that showed a certain diet turns off genes involved in a certain illness, (changes in diet ???!!) by blocking the proteins that coded the genetic expression and that the succeeding generations were born with the sequence already blocked in their DNA! If this is true, amazing!

Just in time for Darwin's 200th birthday. --- LJK

update: Technology Review has just publised a report on a study published today that shows the possibility of Lamarckian inherited traits.... http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22061/ 2/05/2009 ---LJK