Conrad Waddington the father of Epigenetics


Conrad Waddington originated the term epigenetics from the Greek term for "above" or "epi," the genes.

He was a fascinating individual. He was probably a polymath genius. He was not a respecter of tradition. When he saw things in the lab that did not follow the rule of NeoDarwinism, he was quick to point out such observations. 

One such observation was made in fruit flies, a standard model for studying genetics.

He noticed that if the larvae were subjected to heat, the veins in the developed fly wings would show a different pattern. After several generations, these changes could become permanent. He realized this was far too quick for neo-Darwinian changes. He concluded there must be something going on top of the genes, ergo epigenetics.

Other scientists of this field called evo-devo (evolution-development) realized the same thing. However, the main drivers of evolutionary theory were the population geneticists, and they dismissed his findings."

With newer technologies, especially over the last 20 years, Conrad Waddington's observations have been corroborated. This has caused a significant setback to standard evolutionary thinking, but most are starting to get on board. It is rarer and rarer to see a paper discussing evolution that does not take into account epigenetics.

If scientists had incorporated Waddington's observations into their theories, we might be at least fifty years ahead in medicine.

Today a vast number of articles are coming out of the medical field, with no mention of evolution. They want to get at the root of disease, and evolutionary theory contributes very little to this.

We are now in the Golden Age of medicine. The majority of illnesses like Alzheimer's, diabetes, and most cancers are being discovered to be epigenetic phenomena.

Think if we followed Conrad Waddington over 70 years ago. When your doctor discovered your cancer, you'd likely have been cured in a matter of weeks.

Evolution evolved into a quasi-religious commitment to a false theory. The setback to science and medicine is staggering.

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