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Is evolutionary science due for a major overhaul – or is talk of 'revolution' misguided?
When researchers at Emory University in Atlanta trained mice to fear the smell of almonds (by pairing it with electric shocks), they found [DOI: 10.1038/nn.3594] [DX], to their consternation, that both the children and grandchildren of these mice were spontaneously afraid of the same smell. That is not supposed to happen. Generations of schoolchildren have been taught that the inheritance of acquired characteristics is impossible. A mouse should not be born with something its parents have learned during their lifetimes, any more than a mouse that loses its tail in an accident should give birth to tailless mice.
If you are not a biologist, you'd be forgiven for being confused about the state of evolutionary science. Modern evolutionary biology dates back to a synthesis that emerged around the 1940s-60s, which married Charles Darwin's mechanism of natural selection with Gregor Mendel's discoveries of how genes are inherited. The traditional, and still dominant, view is that adaptations – from the human brain to the peacock's tail – are fully and satisfactorily explained by natural selection (and subsequent inheritance). Yet as novel ideas flood in from genomics, epigenetics and developmental biology, most evolutionists agree that their field is in flux. Much of the data implies that evolution is more complex than we once assumed.
Some evolutionary biologists, myself included, are calling for a broader characterisation of evolutionary theory, known as the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES). A central issue is whether what happens to organisms during their lifetime – their development – can play important and previously unanticipated roles in evolution. The orthodox view has been that developmental processes are largely irrelevant to evolution, but the EES views them as pivotal. Protagonists with authoritative credentials square up on both sides of this debate, with big-shot professors at Ivy League universities and members of national academies going head-to-head over the mechanisms of evolution. Some people are even starting to wonder if a revolution is on the cards.
Let's return to the almond-fearing mice. The inheritance of an epigenetic mark transmitted in the sperm is what led the mice's offspring to acquire an inherited fear. In 2011, another extraordinary study [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.10.042] [DX] reported that worms responded to exposure to a nasty virus by producing virus-silencing factors – chemicals that shut down the virus – but, remarkably, subsequent generations epigenetically inherited these chemicals via regulatory molecules (known as 'small RNAs'). There are now hundreds of such studies [DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2016.0135] [DX], many published in the most prominent and prestigious journals. Biologists dispute whether epigenetic inheritance is truly Lamarckian or only superficially resembles it, but there is no getting away from the fact that the inheritance of acquired characteristics really does happen.
By Popper's reasoning, a single experimental demonstration of epigenetic inheritance – like a single black sheep – should suffice to convince evolutionary biologists that it's possible. Yet, by and large, evolutionary biologists have not rushed to change their theories. Rather, as Lakatos anticipated, we have come up with auxiliary hypotheses that allow us to retain our long-held beliefs (ie, that inheritance is pretty much explained by the transmission of genes across generations). These include the ideas that epigenetic inheritance is rare, that it does not affect functionally important traits, that it is under genetic control, and that it is too unstable to underpin the spread of traits through selection.
Unfortunately for the traditionalists, none of these attempts to bracket epigenetic inheritance look credible. It is now known to be widespread in nature [DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2016.0135] [DX], with more and more examples appearing every day. It affects [DOI: 10.1126/science.1248127] [DX] functionally important features such as fruit size, flowering time and root growth in plants – and while only a fraction of epigenetic variants are adaptive, that's no less true of genetic variation, so it's hardly grounds for dismissal. In some systems where rates of epigenetic change have been measured carefully, such as the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the pace has been found [open, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1424254112] [DX] to be low enough to be selected and lead to cumulative evolution. Mathematical models have shown [open, DOI: 10.1086/660911] [DX] that systems with epigenetic inheritance evolve differently from those solely reliant on genetic inheritance – for instance, selection on epigenetic marks can cause changes in gene frequencies. There's no longer any doubt that epigenetic inheritance pushes us to think about evolution in a different way.
Is Lamarck laughing from the grave?
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @12:14AM
Geoff Whitman was the star quarterback at West Hills Central High
School. In West Hills, Mississippi, a rural town with about 3000
people, high school football was about the most exciting thing going
on. Geoff's family had lived in the town for about 200 years, and his
family had owned the land they lived on for that entire time. Geoff's
family no longer was involved in farming, instead his father was a
respected lawyer known throughout Northern Mississippi. Geoff had in
the past few years become a breathtakingly handsome young man, strong
and sturdy, with a masculine jaw and a muscular frame. He had dirty
blonde hair and blue eyes, and he had a drawl and Southern charm that
would melt any woman's heart.
Geoff was dating Sandy Williams, the beauty blonde cheerleader
captain and a member of his church. They had known each other since
they were little and were deeply in love. However, both were still
virgins. They were both firm in their literal interpretation of the
bible and believed that sex was something that should wait for
marriage. Of course, Geoff was a randy young guy and it was hard for
him to wait. But he believed that God would want him to wait and that
God would reward him for waiting. Even though Geoff and Sandy didn't
make love, they couldn't resist making out every chance they got.
Under the hot Mississippi sun, on the beautiful Whitman farm, it was
too romantic to avoid at least doing that.
Since it was so hot in Mississippi, Geoff rarely wore much around
town. Usually he'd just wear short short running shorts. Sandy's 12
year old sister Sally loved it when Geoff would come around. He
looked so good in those shorts with his sturdy legs and big arms and
strong pectorals. He had this line of hair running down his stomach,
in that sexy groove between his abdominal muscles, and Sally just
wished she could see where it led to. Sally especially loved it when
Geoff would stand up after making out with Sandy and have a humongous
bulge in his shorts. Sally loved the manly, handsome guy that was
Geoff Whitman.
Finally, after high school graduation, Geoff and Sandy married and
they finally could make love. They didn't want children just yet, so
they used condoms. They weren't quite as conservative as their
parent's generation. Sally was at their house all the time. She was
just like a little sister to Geoff, too. Little did he know how much
she wanted him, and how she only came over to see him walking around
so scantily clad. Little did either of them know that Sally was the
devious sister who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.
Six months later, the Williams family was shocked to find now-13 year
old Sally pregnant. How could this happen? They asked her who the
father was but she refused to name him. The previously respected
Williams family became the target of gossip from every single family
in West Hills. They were ashamed to show their faces in church. It
was most embarrassing when the police came to question the
Williamses. They wondered if John Williams, the family patriarch and
a devout Christian, had molested his 13 year old daughter. Finally,
Sally named the father of her baby: Geoff Whitman, her sister's
husband.
Then the police came knocking on Geoff and Sandy's door. "What's
this all about?" asked a bewildered Sandy Whitman.
"Your sister Sally has named your husband Geoff as the father of her
baby."
"That's ridiculous!" said Geoff. "Why would I mess around with a
twelve year old?" Sandy was loyal to her husband and didn't believe
the allegation for a second. Even the Williams family refused to
believe their daughter. They believed she was covering for some boy
in her grade. Everyone stood by Geoff, but for the next three months
Sally stood by her story: Geoff was her baby's father. Everyone in
town liked Geoff and didn't take the word of a 13 year old over the
son of a respected family, but Geoff still got looks wherever he went
around town. During the next three months, the Whitman family was the
subject of constant gossip and speculation.
Geoff even talked to Sally. "Sally, I know you're scared, but you're
making my life very difficult. Everyone at work and in town is
talking about me. Now you know that for a baby to be made, two people
have to.... You know, be together. Honey, we've never done that. You
have to tell the truth. I'm not your baby's father."
And tears would well up in little Sally's eyes. "But you are,
Geoff. I prayed and prayed and God answered me. I'm pregnant with
your baby."
"Honey, please. It's illegal for a man my age to be with a little
girl. You have to tell everyone that that never happened."
A week before Sally was to give birth, Sandy sat her handsome husband
down and had a talk with him. "Geoff," she said. "At first I thought
Sally was just being ridiculous. She was scared and she saw what a
strong man you were and she wanted you to take care of her and the
baby. Now I love you and I promise to stand by you but I just want
the truth. Are you the father of my sister's baby?"
"Of course not, Sandy. I doubt Sally knows how babies are even
made. I'm sure some teacher or something took advantage of her and
she had a crush on me so she thought it was mine. I promise you we'll
get all of this settled."
But then the baby, a girl named Susanna, was born and Sally insisted
that Geoff's name be put on the birth certificate. The state of
Mississippi required a DNA test which Geoff happily submitted to,
hoping to put this gossip behind him once and for all. He was shocked
when the results came back with 99.9% accuracy saying that he had
fathered the child. It made no sense. Never had he ever laid a
finger on the child or had sexual relations with her. The thought had
never even crossed his mind. He was sure that there had to be a
mistake and both the Whitmans and the Williamses stood behind him when
he demanded another test at a different hospital. Again the tests
came up showing Geoff to be the father of Sally's baby. He was
promptly arrested for the statutory rape of Sally Williams. The
Whitman name, a fixture in West Hills, Mississippi for as long as
anyone could remember, was slandered. They disowned Geoff and fled
West Hills forever. Sandy Williams, who thought she knew Geoff, her
soulmate, filed for a divorce from her husband. How could he have sex
with a 12 year old, especially her sister? Who was this pervert and
what happened to the Geoff she thought she knew?
Sally described frequent consentual sex with Geoff whenever her
sister left the house. Geoff insisted that the sex had never
happened, not once. And he was right. Sally was making it all up.
But the fact remained that 2 DNA tests conducted by separate doctors
showed 19 year old Geoff Whitman to be the father of 13 year old Sally
Williams' daughter. Geoff, realizing he had little chance of winning
at trial, knowing that somebody had somehow set him up, pled No
Contest to charges of statutory rape. He was sentenced to 10 years in
prison, but only served two. During those two years, the prison
warden, disgusted by the way Geoff had impregnated a little girl,
frequently made Geoff the target of beatings. Geoff's life had turned
into a nightmare, and he prayed God every night to have the truth come
out. He hadn't done anything to deserve this. He missed Sandy.
After being released from prison after 2 years for good behavior,
Geoff was required to register as a sex offender and to report once
weekly for 6 months to be chemically castrated. Geoff, once a normal,
masculine guy, was now no longer capable of getting an erection. He
felt depressed all the time and frequently considered suicide. He
prayed for an hour nightly, asking God to either let the truth come
out that he had never touched Sally, or to just end his life. Geoff's
prayers were answered. Sandy found her sister's diary one day and was
curious to read about Sally's relationship with Geoff. Sandy knew
what she thought was the truth, that Geoff had frequently had sex with
Sally, but it still didn't make sense to her. When she read the
August 7 entry, it all finally did.
"August 7
I've been debating in my mind and asking God for guidance all summer
long. Yesterday God gave me a sign. I was thinking about Geoff at
the bus stop when all of a sudden I heard a baby crying. I realized
that God wanted me to have Geoff's baby. It's the only way Geoff and
I can be together, like God wants us to be. So I spied on Geoff and
Sandy all day today. After they were done making love, I snuck into
their house and took the condom out of the trash. I used the sperm
that was left over in the condom and smeared it all over my vagina. I
will keep stealing Geoff's sperm until I know I'm pregnant with his
beautiful baby."
Sandy was appalled. She had turned on her beloved husband and
allowed him to rot in prison for two years for something he never even
did. Instead of confronting Sally, Sandy photocopied the pages of the
diary and gave them to the police.
Sally was charged with perjury, and Geoff had his sentence
overturned. He was no longer considered a child molester. Sandy
wanted Geoff back, but Geoff wanted to put the whole thing behind him
and got the hell out of Mississippi, hauling ass to Las Vegas,
Nevada. He got a job in a casino and started to make some really good
money. He even met a new woman, Brooke, and they married.
Five years later, Geoff and Brooke were the proud parents of two
sons. They lived in a comfortable middle class community and had a
lot of friends. Geoff had all but lost his southern accent, and
rarely thought of his previous life in Mississippi. Unfortunately,
the now 17-year old Sally was just as mischievous as ever. One day, a
letter in the mail came saying that Geoff owed Sally 20% of his weekly
income for child support, including $12,000 in back-child support.
Geoff was forced to tell Brooke the entire story of what had happened
to him in Mississippi. The couple hired an attorney and flew to
Mississippi to protest in court.
The judge decided that although Geoff had not voluntarily become the
now 7 year old Susanna's father, this was the fault of Sally, not
Susanna. Therefore, Geoff owed the money. "If you didn't want to
become a father, you never should have ejaculated," pronounced the
judge. Geoff was outraged. He had ejaculated into a condom while
having sex with his 18 year old wife. How was he supposed to know her
psychotic 12 year old sister would steal the sperm? And how were his
kids with Brooke supposed to be clothed and fed when he had to send
20% of his check to Sally every week?
Geoff and Brooke went back to Nevada, Geoff vowing not to send Sally
one penny. Unfortunately for Geoff, Sally had different ideas. She
packed up Susanna and promptly moved to Las Vegas herself. 6 months
passed, and Sally had Geoff arrested for child support evasion. The
judge hated dead-beat dads, having had one herself as a child. She
decided to give Geoff a creative sentence. He would have to stand in
front of the local supermarket accompanied by a cop for 12 hours on
Saturday. He would stand handcuffed, wearing no shirt, and would have
the words "Child Support Evader" written on his chest in ketchup.
Geoff had to shave his chest for the occasion, and wondered just how
much more his manhood could take.
Unfortunately for Geoff, they picked the supermarket where basically
all his friends and neighbors went, so these 12 hours were just jam-
packed with humiliation. At the end of the 12 hours, Sally showed up
and asked the police officer if she could take Geoff while he was in
this compromised, handcuffed position. The officer, a woman, thought
that dead beat dads deserved what they got and agreed, handing Geoff
and the key to the lock over to Sally. Geoff protested to no avail
and decided there were entirely too many women working in the Nevada
justice system.
Sally brought the still hand-cuffed, still shirtless Geoff into her
car and sat him down in her passenger seat. She wiped the ketchup off
his chest.
"You've always been sexy, Geoff, and you still are," said Sally as
her hands moved southward.
"Sally, are you out of your mind? I have a family now. You have to
stop playing these games."
"You're the one playing games, Geoff. I have wanted you ever since I
was a little girl. You used to run around in front of me barely
wearing any clothes. What a tease. Well, Geoff, I can't take it
anymore. I need you. All of you. I want to hold your manly body. I
want you to stuff your manmeat inside of me every night. I want you
so badly."
"Well you can't have me. I'm happily married," Geoff said, trying to
sound strong and emotionless. But the fact of the matter was that
Sally's words had given Geoff a noticeable erection.
Sally unzipped Geoff's jeans and pulled out his throbbing member.
She had that look on her face like a kid at Christmas. "Oh, Geoff,"
she said. "It's beautiful." And she moved her face down to his lap
and fellated him.
"Oh, Sally. Oh my God." Geoff had never felt such a sensation
before. Sally was licking up his cock as if it were an ice cream
cone. Geoff tried not to imagine his ex-wife's weird 12 year old as
she lapped up his cock as if it were the most delicious thing she had
ever tasted. Geoff tried not to think of his wife. He was in
handcuffs. This was female-on-male rape. If he had the handcuffs on
he would not let Sally do this. Or so he told himself. The fact was
the girl was clearly obsessed with his penis and it was turning him on
majorly. "No, Geoff. This is rape. You're definitely not enjoying
this," he thought.
As she sucked his hard, long, solid-as-a-rock cock, Sally felt as
though she was in heaven. The most manly stud she had ever known was
finally inside her mouth, and he tasted amazing. But it wasn't
enough. Sally pulled up her skirt and sat on Geoff's lap. His cock
slowly inserted itself into her vagina. "Geoff," she said. "Give us
another baby."
"No, Sally, no!" Now Geoff was pissed. A blowjob was one thing.
Fathering another one of Sally's kids was quite another. She wasn't
the most attractive person and frankly having his cock in her vadge
was a bit of a turn-off for Geoff. But she was tight. It was obvious
that Sally had saved her virginity for him. He felt his balls ready
to shoot and yelled out, "Oh my God!" And so Sally took another load
from him.
Sally took off the cuffs and dropped Geoff off at his house. Things
with Brooke were a bit testy these days. She knew her husband was
probably innocent, but deep down she wondered if perhaps he had a
thing for Sally. She wondered how all these things could happen
coincidentally to her husband. In spite of the jail sentence and the
money payments, she felt like Geoff secretly enjoyed having this crazy
woman obsessed with him. And it pissed her off that they were now
pariahs in the neighborhood because Geoff had been seen by everyone at
the supermarket. She was halfway between feeling sorry for the man
she loved that he kept on getting a raw deal, and secretly hating him
for making her life difficult.
The end of the road for Brooke was nine months later when Sally
showed up at their door with quadruplets. Geoff tried to explain that
Sally had raped him and then taken fertility drugs, but Brooke had had
enough. She packed up the kids and left Geoff for good. Geoff was
left with nothing, yet again. Who would believe him if he said that
he'd been raped while in handcuffs? Geoff didn't even know if he
believed himself anymore. Maybe he was leading Sally on. Maybe he
did like that Sally stalked him.
However, Geoff had too much pride to give in to her. Yet again he
packed up and left. Geoff needed some grounding, so he stopped back
in Mississippi. He visited Sandy and told her everything that had
happened.
"So you lost another wife because of my sister? I'm so sorry,
Geoffrey." And she held his hand. It was a beautiful Mississippi
sunset, and Geoff and Sandy did something on a whim. They made love
under the big southern trees. They both knew that their time as a
couple had passed, that they could never be together really, but in
that moment they knew that they were soul mates. Geoff knew that he
was just a simple, gallant, traditional, southern guy and he didn't
want or deserve to be stalked like this. But he certainly wasn't
going to let Sally win.
Geoff said goodbye to Sally and packed up his life again. This time
he ended up working construction in Queens, NY. Geoff decided to go
by his middle name, Clarence, and he began practicing talking without
his southern accent. After three years, Geoffrey Clarence Whitman
talked in perfect Queens English, and was once again married. He
married yet again, this time to an intelligent lawyer named
Madeleine. He was dishonest about his past, claiming to have been
born and raised in Queens and never before married. When Madeleine
began talking about having children, Geoff began to get squeamish. He
already had 7 children he never saw. He really didn't need any more.
He began to think he might get a vasectomy. But Geoff was a southern
guy. Even if it was a good idea, it just wasn't done. They were his
balls. You just didn't mess around down there.
One night in Queens, Madeleine Whitman was cuddling with her gorgeous
husband. "Clay honey?" she asked. "Why don't you go by your first
name?"
Geoff hesitated. "I don't like having the same name as a big, toy-
loving giraffe."
Madeleine laughed. "No really." Geoff sighed.
"Honey, I don't want to go into it..." But she wouldn't let the
subject die. So finally Geoff had to confess. "I have a criminal
record," he finally blurted out. "But I was proven innocent and
exonerated."
"What was the charge?" Madeleine asked.
"I was charged with... molesting a 12 year old girl. But I really
was, and am, innocent." Unfortunately, Madeleine was unconvinced.
She hired a private detective. Unfortunately, that private detective
was an associate of a private detective in Nevada, who unfortunately
was in the unfortunate employ of Sally Williams. Sally Williams now
knew that Geoff was in Queens and now going by the name of "G. Clay
Whitman." She showed up one day at Geoff's construction site.
"You certainly look good in a wife-beater. All rugged and manly.
Yum yum. That is definitely your look, Geoffrey." Geoff turned
around. There she was again. He just couldn't escape this psycho.
"I still love you, Geoff. I want our kids to have a father. How's
Maddie?"
"You stay away from my wife, Sally."
"Or what, you'll spank me? Sounds fun."
"I'm serious, I'll get a restraining order against you."
"No you won't, Geoff. Because evading child support is a far worse
crime. Don't forget, I have 5 of your kids now."
"What's it gonna take to get rid of you, Sally?"
"I wanna make love to you, Geoff. Just once. Like you and Sandy
used to. If you make love to me just one time I'll leave you alone
forever. I want you to want me. I want you to thrust into me with
all your power." Geoff began to get a boner. "I want you to go at me
like an animal. Just once. Tonight. And then I'll leave you alone,
I promise."
"Can I wear a condom? The good lord knows how fertile you are."
"Fine," said Sally. "I don't need your sperm, I've already had it.
I just need you." So she wrote down her apartment number and Geoff
agreed to come over that night.
Geoff came home to Madeleine, who told him she knew everything about
his past and wanted a divorce. "Madeleine, that woman's about to be
out of my life forever. Just bear with me. I love you."
"I thought I loved you too, Clarence. But I don't even know you.
You got raped by a 12 year old? I just don't buy it."
"She didn't rape me, she just stole my sperm. She didn't rape me
until 3 years ago."
"Clay, or should I say Geoff... you must be egging this woman on
somehow. I don't want to be a part of this sick game. We're over."
Geoff, angry that Sally had now ruined 3 marriages for him, arrived at
Sally's place in a rage. He picked her up, threw her on the bed, and
banged her hard. He shoved his cock into her. He made hickeys all
over her neck. He held her arms down hard. When it was over, she
said, "That was everything I ever dreamed of, Geoff. I promise you
I'm out of your life now." But she lied. The moment Geoff left,
Sally hit herself hard to make a bruise. She then called the police
and told them that a Queens man, Geoffrey Clarence Whitman, had raped
her.
Geoff was arrested promptly and told he was being charged with the
rape of Sally Williams. Sally came to visit him in jail the next day.
"Hello, Geoff," she said.
"Sally, you know I didn't rape you. You wanted it. You begged me
for sex last night. Tell them I didn't rape you."
"I'll pay your bail, Geoff," said Sally. "And if you marry me, I'll
tell the police that it wasn't rape and all charges will be dropped."
Geoff realized that he would never be free of Sally, and consented to
marrying her.
Geoff and Sally Whitman moved back to West Hills a month later.
Geoff was sentenced by Sally to a life as her sex slave. Eventually,
the two were the parents of 28 children. Finally, Sally neutered
Geoff. She keeps him naked in the basement, and once a day puts him
on a leash like a dog while she walks him around the old Whitman
farm. Geoff, on his own family's farm, became nothing more than first
a stud, then a pathetic house pet. Certainly, this wasn't what the
strong, muscular, handsome, all-American southern stud thought his
life would be. But Sally Williams' sperm craving was strong enough
that she got everything she ever wanted.