Daily Archives: 22/06/2016

The epigenetic revolution has reintroduced the idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics into evolution, to the extent that some of Darwin’s devotees are trying to spin the story that Darwin believed in it all along, and that orthodox science never denied it. Which is tosh, of course – acquired heredity was the epitome of heresy throughout my lifetime, at least. As I wrote in a zoology essay in 1968, referencing Jean-Baptiste Lamarck: There is no evidence that body cell characteristics can be transferred to reproductive cells. Well, that ought to have settled the matter! But with Lamarck beginning to be mentioned in polite company again without the customary sneer, … Continue reading →