Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id WAA14006 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 29 Aug 2001 22:47:41 +0100 Message-ID: <004101c130d4$01b31c80$d386b2d1@teddace> From: "Dace" <edace@earthlink.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <3B8BA216.42CA25F@bioinf.man.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Clincher? Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 14:46:03 -0700 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Fraid not.
Your approach is far too black-and-white. MR doesn't contradict natural
selection. It rounds it out. It restores evolutionary theory to its
Darwinian moors by incorporating the inheritance of acquired traits. You
should be aware that Darwin considered the capacity of organisms to shape
their evolutionary future as being essential to evolutionary theory. As far
as Darwin was concerned, there is no theory of evolution if the behavior of
organisms isn't its driving force. He would certainly have been appalled
at what has been put forth in his name in this century.
MR isn't going to save a species when the material basis of its existence,
genetic or environmental, is no longer present.
Ted
> How do species go extinct by inbreeding if MR works?
>
> Some species are outcompeted simply, but some dwindle (cheetahs are so
> genetically homogenous due to population size reduction over the years
> that skin grafts between unrelated animals more or less always take, for
> example) and as they dwindle, genetic drift moves them away from the
> optimal configuration for the species (fixation of deleterious alleles).
>
> Genetic drift explains this perfectly, with no bits left over. How about
> MR? And why does the MR 'go wrong' for them in the first place (again
> the geneticist's explanation holds up with no visible strain here).
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Chris Taylor (chris@bioinf.man.ac.uk)
> http://bioinf.man.ac.uk/ »people»chris
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