Genome complexity: importance of epigenetics (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, April 01, 2017, 15:03 (2581 days ago) @ dhw

QUOTE: “Much as Lamarck suggested, changes in the environment literally alter our biology. And even in the absence of continued exposure, the altered biology, expressed as traits or in the form of disease, is transmitted from one generation to the next.”

dhw: Although of course far from conclusive, this supports the hypothesis that organisms have a mechanism that enables them not only to adapt to changing conditions, but also to exploit them by creating new “traits”: what I have called an autonomous inventive mechanism which, in the light of our discussion on the weaverbird, might also be called a designing intelligence.

And I've called epigenetic adaptations, not at a level of designed speciation, or intricate lifestyle design.