Early embryology; clockwork construction plan (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, October 21, 2011, 01:31 (4783 days ago) @ dhw

My (extremely amateur) speculation doesn’t concern a Hox gene for epigenetic changes, but the exact reverse............ If there really was a link to epigenetic changes, wouldn’t this vastly reduce the unlikely role of chance? I’m talking only of evolution, not of the origin of life or of the mechanisms themselves, and I’m asking because I’m in no position to judge the feasibility of such speculation. So please feel free to shoot me down if it’s all nonsense.

I don't think you have shot yourself in the foot to use a Texan term. I have stated before that I think epigenetics was there from the beginning of life. How else would organisims survived on the early Earth, just over being bombarded by asteroids, etc; going through rampant volcanism; markedly shifting temperatures, such as 'snowball Earth'; mobile continents changing climates and mountain ranges; marked sea level changes; and so on? And also what I published here about ten days ago, an early one-celled organism with an organelle:

"Wow!!! New studies suggest that an organelle was present in early life forms. But, bacteria aren't supposed to have organelles. Was early life more complex than we imagine? Was there pre-planning, i.e., intelligent design?

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-universal-common-ancestor-complex-previously.html "

I'll bet there were Hox genes. A co-author of the article (James Whitfield, not the Hollywood actor (;>()) noted: "We may have underestimated how complex this common ancestor actually was." I' am willing to bet there were lots of genome parts around. In a sense there has to be planning for the future. Early amoebas didn't envision having arms and legs one day. Hox genes allow for sudden origins as I noted a few days ago. As you know I don't think chance played much of a role.