Epigenetic Lamarck

Darwinize It Two Times: On the Possibilities of Extending Evolutionary Medicine Through New Developments in Evolutionary Theory   by Ozan Altan Altinok is a paper that argues that the latest developments in evolutionary theory can be used to extend the reach and power of evolutionary medicine (EM). EM is a field of study that applies evolutionary theory to the understanding and treatment of human diseases. Altinok begins by arguing that EM is currently limited by its reliance on the Modern Synthesis (MS) of evolutionary theory. The MS is a framework for understanding evolution that was developed in the mid-20th century. It is based on the principles of natural selection, genetic variation, and population genetics. While the MS has had some success in explaining aspects of evolution, it has also been criticized for being too narrow and for failing to account for some important evolutionary phenomena. Altinok then discusses some of the key developments in evolutionary th...

Title: "The fit thrive" not the "survival of the fittest." "It is doubtful, however, whether even the most statistically minded geneticists are entirely satisfied that nothing more is involved than the sorting out of random mutations by the natural selective filter." - Conrad Waddington, father of Epigenetics, Letter to Nature journal the year the MS (theory of evolution) was released in '42 DNA polymerase errors are responsible for about 10-20% of DNA substitutions . DNA polymerases are enzymes that copy DNA during replication. They are very accurate, but they do make mistakes occasionally. These mistakes can lead to DNA substitutions, which are changes in the base sequence of DNA. DNA polymerases have built-in proofreading mechanisms that can correct most of the errors they make. However, some errors still escape proofreading and can lead to DNA substitutions. The percentage of DNA substitutions due to polymerase errors varies depending o...

"In terms of Junk DNA, we don’t use that term anymore because I think it was pretty much a case of hubris to imagine that we could dispense with any part of the genome, as if we knew enough to say it wasn’t functional. … Most of the genome that we used to think was there for spacer turns out to be doing stuff.”- Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project (HGP) Transposable elements (TEs), also known as "jumping genes," were once thought to be "Junk DNA", but we now know that they play an important role in gene regulation and NonDarwinian evolution. They make up 98% of our DNA.  The Human Genome Project (HGP) (above) assumed that TEs were Junk DNA, and this contributed to the project's failure to fully achieve its goals. Because of this the HGP did not identify all of the genes in the human genome, and it did not fully explain how genes are regulated. The study cost 7 billion dollar and took 11 years to complete only to be a dud by ignorin...

There was never a time when genetics lacked epigenetics. Epigenetics acts as the megaphone of the environment over the gene. "Transposons (TEs) are among the least investigated components of genomes." The theory of Junk DNA considered TEs as "useless" discouraging further study.   Non-autonomous transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences that can move from one location in the genome to another, but cannot do so on their own. They rely on the machinery of autonomous TEs and epigenetics to be mobilized. Non-autonomous TEs are much more common than autonomous TEs, and they make up the majority of TEs in most genomes. Before epigenetics, it was thought that non-autonomous transposable elements (TEs) were mobilized by other active autonomous TEs only. This is because non-autonomous TEs lack the genes necessary for transposition, so they were thought to rely on the proteins produced by autonomous TEs to move. However, with the discovery of epigenetics, it b...

Epigenetics can adapt to climate change. Epigenetic modifications are changes to DNA that do not change the underlying DNA sequence. These changes can affect how genes are expressed and can be passed down to future generations. Climate change is causing a variety of environmental changes, such as increased temperature, drought, and flooding. These changes can stress organisms and cause them to make epigenetic changes. For example, a study of mice found that exposure to heat stress caused epigenetic changes in the sperm of the mice. These changes were passed down to the next generation of mice, which were more resistant to heat stress. Epigenetic changes can help organisms to adapt to climate change in a number of ways. For example, they can help organisms to tolerate changes in temperature, drought, and salinity. They can also help organisms to resist pests and diseases. In addition, epigenetic changes can be passed down to future generations. This means that organisms can ...