Several folks in the scientific community are questioning Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. No one will dispute Darwin's contributions to our knowledge of evolution as a phenomenon, but there's increasing skepticism regarding the theory or process - natural selection - by which evolution is said to require place. The speculation of natural selection involves two separate processes, i.e. the mutation process (by that a genetic or, more broadly, a biological mutation takes place) and the choice method (that takes place later, and determines whether or not the mutated organism survives the challenges of a changing surroundings). In this case the environment plays a task in the choice method and not the mutation process. Various theories of evolution posit that the atmosphere plays a task directly in the process of biological mutation, and as such the choice method is not significant. This may counsel that evolution might be much additional rapid than previously thought, particularly in the context of a changing environment.
There's overwhelming proof that the atmosphere isn't merely a limiting factor within the survival of mutated organisms, however rather could be a supply of extraneous material and energy in the processes that result in mutations in the first place. I will briefly review two such processes before I propose an engineering hypothesis. Horizontal gene transfer, e.g. by means that of viruses, is one example of environmental interference within the genomes of organisms. Apparently, this may entail that all organisms among a species who were infected by a specific virus may mutate at the identical time. This is in contradiction with the tree-of-life hypothesis underpinning the speculation of natural selection [1]. Secondly, the groundbreaking work of Moshe Szyf and co-employees in the sphere of epigenetics has shown that environmental contaminants can turn genes 'on' or 'off' within the mammalian embryo. This study indicates that specific environmental pressures on the systems biology of the embryo will lead to particular hereditary traits [2].
The purpose of this article is to advance an engineering hypothesis of a relationship between environmental conditions and biological mutations. I speculated earlier that the fertilised ovum previous to zygote formation is a attainable system for genetic or biological mutations [3]. Inside the fertilised ovum the biochemical 'fusion' of the male and female pronuclei takes place by means of a biological spindle and energy transfer to/from the atmosphere, leading to the production of the zygote genome. Assuming that the biochemical reactions involved within the fusion process are so much-from-equilibrium in relation to the atmosphere, we tend to might be able to apply the chaos theory of the renowned thermodynamicist Ilya Prigogine, as follows.
In engineering terms we have a tendency to can define a biological system as a closed system that interacts with the atmosphere (surroundings) by means of mass transfer (e.g. through a cell membrane) and/or energy transfer (e.g. work done by or on the setting). Prigogine and co-workers proved that in some cases a closed system will exhibit chaotic behaviour when it exists in an exceedingly way-from-equilibrium state relative to environmental conditions (i.e. when there's a large thermodynamic driving force for mass and/or energy transfer between the system and also the setting). Theoretical developments in the field of non-equilibrium thermodynamics reveal that advanced, ordered chemical structures can be created at intervals such systems [4]. It follows that the chemical structure of the zygote genome formed in the fertilised ovum may be dependent upon environmental conditions. Any distinction within the environmental conditions would end in altered complexity or composition of the zygote genome.
In summary, it is proposed that the fusion of the male and feminine pronuclei within the fertilised ovum could be a chaotic method in accordance with Ilya Prigogine's theory. The reordering of parental genes into the zygote genome is sensitive to environmental conditions; any distinction in environmental conditions leads to altered chemical complexity or composition. This is often a natural method of biological mutation in which the setting plays an on the spot role, not like Darwin's theory of natural selection.
References
[1] Graham Lawton, "Why Darwin was wrong concerning the tree of life", New Scientist, Issue 2692, 21 Jan 2009
[2] Valerie Brown, "Environment become heredity", Miller-McCune, fourteen July 2008
[3] M. Sahibzada, "Evolution by natural design - the merging of parent genes in the fertilised ovum", Ezine Articles, 9 July 2007
[4] D. Kondepudi and I. Prigogine, "Trendy Thermodynamics: From Heat Engines to Dissipative Structures", Chichester: John Wiley, 1998
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Dorish Hill Grant has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Biology, you can also check out his latest website about:
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