Why Darwin's discredited rival may be proven right 200 years later - The Telegraph
telegraph.co.uk
Lamarck said giraffes pass stretched necks to their young — Darwin buried that idea, but professors now argue he may have been right all along.
Lamarckian InheritanceEpigeneticsNatural SelectionEvolutionary Theory
Theory Briefing
- Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed 200 years ago that physical changes acquired during an organism's lifetime can be inherited by offspring.
- Modern professors are backing Lamarck's idea, suggesting Darwin's dismissal of it may have been premature.
- Epigenetics — how environment alters gene expression without changing DNA — is the scientific bridge reviving Lamarck's reputation.
- The debate reframes evolution: not just random mutation and selection, but experience and environment shaping what gets passed on.