Nature and nurture: Lamarck's legacy

Gadjev, Ilya

doi:10.1111/bij.12439

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…Although epigenetics may shed light onto the reductionism of gene-centric theories, some authors are already concerned about the resurgence of Lamarckian accounts of heritability (Gadjev, 2015). Indeed, it is important to acknowledge that so far, there is only limited evidence of the transgenerational inheritance of a few epigenetic variants in humans.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…its differences compared with genetics) (Stelmach and Nerlich, 2015). The ‘revolutionary’ aspects of epigenetics, and the mobilization of its rhetorical power for ideological, political or commercial purposes, have been particularly scrutinized (Deichmann, 2016; Gadjev, 2015; Landecker and Panofsky, 2013; Mansfield, 2012; Meloni and Testa, 2014; Müller et al, 2017b; Pentecost and Cousins, 2017; Robison, 2016).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Epigenetics, ethics, law and society: A multidisciplinary review of descriptive, instrumental, dialectical and reflexive analyses

2019

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Epigenetics, defined as ‘the study of mitotically and/or meiotically heritable changes in gene function that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence’, has emerged as a promissory yet controversial field of scientific inquiry over the past decade. Scholars from many disciplines have formulated both optimistic and cautionary claims regarding its potential normative implications. This article provides a comprehensive review of the nascent literature at the crossroads of epigenetics, ethics, law and society. It describes nine emerging areas of discussion, relating to (1) the impact of epigenetics on the nature versus nurture dualism, (2) the potential resulting biologization of the social, (3) the meaning of epigenetics for public health, its potential influence on (4) reproduction and parenting, (5) political theory and (6) legal proceedings, and concerns regarding (7) stigmatization and discrimination, (8) privacy protection and (9) knowledge translation. While there is some degree of similarity between the nature and content of these areas and the abundant literature on ethical, legal and social issues in genetics, the potential implications of epigenetics ought not be conflated with the latter. Critical studies on epigenetics are emerging within a separate space of bioethical and biopolitical investigations and claims, with scholars from various epistemological standpoints utilizing distinct yet complementary analytical approaches.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epigenetics, ethics, law and society: A multidisciplinary review of descriptive, instrumental, dialectical and reflexive analyses

2019

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“…Before he took over a position as Professor of "lower animals" in the Natural History Museum of Paris (France), these neglected organisms were largely unknown to science. Therefore, it is fair to say that Lamarck was the founder of invertebrate zoology [4,5].…”

Section: Lamarck's Achievements and Legacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Hirudinea Lamarck 1818: Evolutionary origin and taxonomy of the six medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo) known today

Kutschera¹,

Shain²

2019

Biomed Res Rev

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Two hundred years ago (early 1819), the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829) lost his eyesight and had to cope with poverty over the last decade of his life. In the previous year (1818), Lamarck had introduced the term "Hirudinea", and described all the leech species known at that time in one of his books. Here, we recount the life and achievements of Lamarck with reference to leeches of the genus Hirudo. We document the evolutionary origin (somewhere in Asia, ca. 15 to 20 million years ago), occurrence, speciation patterns, systematics and practical application of these parasitic annelids. It is concluded that Lamarck's pioneering work on the systematics of invertebrates provided a solid basis for a research program into the evolutionary biology and physiology of these important model organisms.

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“…More generally, the study of ‘soft’ inheritance—routinely connected with Lamarckism and the work of the infamous chief biologist in Stalin's USSR Trofim Lysenko—has an even longer and more tumultuous history. The beginning of the twenty‐first century has seen a reinvigorated interest in Lamarck's intellectual legacy and ‘soft’ heredity (Gadjev , 242–47). This revival is no doubt driven largely by progress in molecular biology and specifically epigenetics, but the broader dynamics, transformations, and interactions within and between the life sciences, the social sciences, and the public sphere have also played an important role.…”

Section: Epigenetics In Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Epigenetics, Representation, and Society

Gadjev¹

2017

Zygon

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In recent decades, advances in the life sciences have created an unprecedentedly detailed picture of heredity and the formation of the phenotype where clusters of simplistic reductionist and deterministic views and interpretations have begun to lose ground to more complex and holistic notions. The developments in gene regulation and epigenetics have become a vivid emblem of the ongoing ‘softening’ of heredity. Despite this headway, the outlook and rhetoric widely popular in the twentieth century favoring the ‘gene’ in the ‘gene↔genetic plasticity↔phenotype↔environment’ tetrad have not been successfully tackled but continue to exist in parallel with a new, equally monochromatic, viewpoint championing genetic plasticity. An examination of epigenetics and its presentation in the public sphere, open to a conversation with the social disciplines and philosophy, could address this dichotomy and contribute to the discourse. This article outlines key biological aspects of epigenetics and discusses the language, presentation and wider resonance of this field of life science research.

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Nature and nurture: Lamarck's legacy

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Epigenetics, ethics, law and society: A multidisciplinary review of descriptive, instrumental, dialectical and reflexive analyses

Epigenetics, ethics, law and society: A multidisciplinary review of descriptive, instrumental, dialectical and reflexive analyses

Hirudinea Lamarck 1818: Evolutionary origin and taxonomy of the six medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo) known today

Epigenetics, Representation, and Society

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