Category Archives: epigenetics

The intellectual vacuity of New Scientist’s evolution issue: 3. The supposed importance of epigenetics in evolution

September 28, 2020 – 11:00 am

I’ll continue on with New Scientist‘s 13-section claim that the modern theory of evolution needs a reboot (see previous posts here and here), though I don’t know how much longer I can stand their uninformed palaver written by incurious journalists. Today we’l take up section 4: “There is more to inheritance than just genes”, which […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in evolution, evolution-bashing, science journalism, science journals behaving badly | Comments (23)

The BBC unwisely jumps on the epigenetics bandwagon

April 8, 2019 – 10:00 am

About two weeks ago,  the BBC’s “Future” website published a long science article touting the importance of epigenetic effects in humans: the idea that various behaviors, traumas, and psychological propensities produced by the environment on parents can be transmitted to their offspring. This is supposed to act in a “Lamarckian” way: the environment modifies the […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in journalists behaving badly, science journalism, science journals behaving badly, science writing | Comments (43)

Epigenetics: the return of Lamarck? Not so fast!

August 26, 2018 – 11:00 am

I noticed that there’s a new book out by Peter Ward, a biology professor at the University of Washington who’s done a lot of work on nautilus cepalopods. (He’s also written several trade books in biology.) Here’s his new book, and, as you can see, the cover touts epigenetics as “Lamarck’s Revenge” (Jean-Baptiste Lamarck [1744-1829] […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in evolution, speciation | Comments (34)

Here we go again: a Templeton-sponsored conference designed to “expand” evolutionary biology

August 21, 2018 – 9:00 am

When I was sent this announcement of a conference on evolution at Cambridge University next year (click on screenshots), and when I read the program and saw the speakers (links at third screenshot), I smelled a RAT (abbreviation for “rubbish and Templeton”), but I didn’t know for sure that the John Templeton Foundation was one […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in evolution, woo | Comments (52)

More evidence against pervasive “epigenetic” heritable and environmentally induced changes in DNA

July 23, 2018 – 1:30 pm

I’ve discussed at great length the lack of evidence that the environment can change the DNA in a way that is both inherited through successive generations and can also be adaptive: the view that there is a new “epigenetic” form of Lamarckian inheritance of acquired characteristics. Go here to see a panoply of my pieces […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in genetics | Comments (26)

The flimsy evidence that environmentally-induced “epigenetic” changes in DNA are transmitted between generations of humans

May 29, 2018 – 1:30 pm

All of you have read on this site (most recently in my critique of a dire New York Review of Books article) about the buzz concerning “epigenetics”—in particular, about the idea that human DNA can be changed by our exposure to the environment, and the view that such DNA changes can be inherited across several generations.  […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in genetics | Comments (48)

Another lousy article on epigenetics, this time in the New York Review of Books

May 24, 2018 – 1:00 pm

I don’t know who the New York Review of Books is getting to vet its biology articles, but this one below (free access) is really confusing. One reason may be that the authors have no particular expertise in evolution. Israel Rosenfeld is an MD with training in neuroscience, while Edward Ziff is a professor at NYU […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in evolution, genetics | Comments (39)

More dumb claims that environmental epigenetics will completely revise our view of evolution

October 27, 2017 – 1:00 pm

There’s an interesting new paper out on the genetic basis of eye loss in cave fish, reported in a manuscript in biorxiv (not yet peer reviewed) by Aniket Gore et al. (reference and free download at bottom. ) It’s also summarized by New Scientist in the online article below (click on screenshot to go to article), […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in evolution, genetics | Comments (22)

The Daily Beast distorts epigenetics with bogus claims that children can “inherit memories of the Holocaust”

September 24, 2017 – 9:15 am

I’ve written extensively on this site about recent claims that environmental modifications of DNA, through either methylation (sticking a -CH3 group onto DNA bases or by changing the histone scaffolding that supports the DNA, can constitute a basis for evolutionary change. This claim is simply wrong. To date, while we can show that environmental “shocks” given […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in genetics, science journalism, science writing | Comments (26)

Aeon tries to revive Lamarck, calling for a “paradigm” shift in evolution

August 18, 2017 – 1:15 pm

UPDATE:  As reader Michael found out and reveals in a comment below, Skinner is well funded by Templeton. It crossed my mind, but I thought, “naaaah. . .” and couldn’t be arsed to look it up. But yes, Skinner is eating well from the Templeton trough. It’s pretty clear that Templeton is deeply invested in […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in evolution, genetics | Comments (55)