Traits and adaptations acquired during an organism's lifetime become coded into its inheritance and are passed to offspring, allowing species to adapt within a generation or two.
After Lamarck's original theory was disproven by Mendelian genetics, later refinements like neo-Lamarckism attempted to preserve the concept through Lysenko's Soviet biology or other mechanisms. However, all evidence supports neo-Darwinian synthesis: inheritance operates through genetic material (DNA), which cannot be substantially altered by acquired characteristics. While epigenetic modifications can sometimes influence gene expression across one generation, they are not the primary mechanism of evolution, and evolution primarily proceeds through natural selection acting on genetic variation.
Reception
Sources
- Neo-Lamarckism and Soviet Biology REFERENCE
- The Modern Evolutionary Synthesis PRIMARY