Biologists Revive 200-Year-Old Lamarckism as Inherited Traits Re-enter Evolution Theory
Updated
Updated · The Conversation · Jul 28
Biologists Revive 200-Year-Old Lamarckism as Inherited Traits Re-enter Evolution Theory
3 articles · Updated · The Conversation · Jul 28
Summary
A growing body of biology research is folding Lamarckism into modern evolutionary theory, arguing that acquired traits can sometimes pass to offspring alongside Darwinian natural selection.
C. elegans worms exposed to infection, starvation or heat can transmit stress-adapted small RNAs through eggs, giving offspring—and later generations—improved resilience from birth.
Dozens to hundreds of studies across bacteria, plants and animals now report similar inheritance effects, including rice plants that gain lasting cold resistance through chemical gene tags.
Researchers argue this does not overturn Darwinism: natural selection still explains much evolution, while inherited acquired traits act as a second, compatible driver that selection itself could favor.
That expanded view could shape applications from crop breeding and coral conservation to human prevention programs if parental exposures or behaviors can influence later generations.