What if Darwin isn't all there is?
I am sure that we have all heard of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. Written almost 150 years ago, it is considered to be one the paramount pieces on evolution. We have since developed theories of evolution based on this book. We believed that evolution to be a long process that can take numerous generations and will be based on more than the parent’s environment and experiences.
What some people may not know is of the theories of his contemporaries. One such theory was developed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. This theory now called Lamarckism stated that evolution could be directly impacted by an organism’s parent’s experiences. His theory specifically was in reference to giraffes and their long necks.
While this example may not be the best of this theory, the theory itself is being reconsidered after numerous findings by biologists around the world. After reading an article in Newsweek, I was intrigued by the idea that a parent’s environment and experiences may in fact directly impact a child’s traits that it inherits.
As an example the article discusses a species of water flea that gains a spiny helmet if their mother had an experience with predators before conceiving. If not her off spring would not have these spiny helmets. The DNA of both types of water flea being the same. This type of trait by Darwin’s theories would have taken numerous generations to develop.
DNA, genetics, and inheritance are all topics that intrigue me. As a DNA Testing consultant I try to keep up with what is being discovered in the scientific community. This new finding blows much of what I studied in high school and college out of the water. I am excited to see what may come out of this research. I am curious to see how humans are directly impacted by the experiences of their parents.
However this research turns out there is one thing that will remain true. The DNA that determines relationships is not directly impacted by these types of findings. You cannot change the markers that indicate relationship simply by eating more greens or even doing hard drugs. So, no need to be concerned with your results changing based on this type of information. I am curious to hear what everyone has to say about this. Please leave a comment or email me directly at: kstyer@identigene.com
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