Re: Svante Paabo et al: the end of evolutionary theory
Others may not be aware that mutations have been removed from any further consideration whatsoever by information on how ecological variation leads to species diversity via nutrient-dependent DNA methylation and the metabolism of nutrients to species-specific pheromones that control the physiology of reproduction. Their lack of awareness that neo-Darwinism is dead suggests that the role of DNA methylation in alternative splicings of pre-mRNA must be the next nail in the coffin of pseudoscience (e.g., evolutionary theory). Fortunately, some serious scientists already understand the importance of alternative splicings of RNA, which must be considered so that the uninformed theorists do not again interrupt scientific progress.
See, for example of accurate information: Alternative RNA Splicing in Evolution. However, until everyone else replaces the commonly used term evolution with ecological adaptation, our 1996 Hormones and Behavior review article may be of interest to those who no longer trust evolutionary theorists to know enough about biology to accurately represent cause and effect. I suspect that Jon Lieff, who wrote the excellent 2012 article on Alternative RNA Splicing in Evolution, will agree. Now that Paabo and others have replaced the term mutation with DNA methylation, we all can freely use the term ecological adaptations instead of evolution.
The academic restrictions on use of terms have finally been lifted in the context of conserved molecular mechanisms and the fossil record, and nothing known about alternative splicings of pre-mRNA has changed. Therefore, others may want to see From Fertilization to Adult Sexual Behavior. They can then try to rapidly catch up by learning more about how nutrient-dependent DNA methylation and alternative splicings of pre-mRNA in species from yeasts, Drosophila, other invertebrates, other vertebrates and non-human primates provided the background information that led serious scientists to finally reveal there is no such thing as mutation-initiated natural selection in the context of nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled species diversity.
For more information on biophysically constrained ecological adaptations, see also: Requirement for highly efficient pre-mRNA splicing during Drosophila early embryonic development. It extends the facts about efficient pre-mRNA splicing to the latest information on Fetal programming of adult Leydig cell function by androgenic effects on stem/progenitor cells.
According to the news release about this fetal programming, “There is increasing evidence that a mother’s diet, lifestyle and exposure to drugs and chemicals can have a significant impact on testosterone levels in the womb. That increasing evidence links our 1996 review and the epigenetic effects of nutrient-stress and social stress on the development of the gonadotropin releasing hormone neuronal system of vertebrates to nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled ecological adaptations and species diversity in all other species via the conserved mechanisms of molecular epigenetics first detailed by our prescient co-author, Teresa Binstock.
