[hinckley buzzard]

We now know that genes can be turned on and off by environmental events, particularly those we consider stressful. And a "turned on" version could be as easily inherited as a turned off version, with effects seen in the phenotype. The idea was considered by Darwin but emphasized by Lamarck.

This has been hypothesized by serious researchers in modern times for some time, it is not breaking news. Nor is it Lysenkoism.

[Sherman Logan]

Righto.

But some people seem to be fixated on the notion that genetic information is simply passed down from generation to generation without change except by random mutation.

That’s always seemed a little simplistic to me. I’ve recently been running across research, for instance, that viruses may be able to modify the DNA of the host organism. Which opens up some interesting possibilities for the mechanism of evolution.