The positive genetic contributions of viruses to life on Earth will be explored by researchers at the University of Delaware and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute through a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Marine Microbiology Initiative.
As I noted earlier, science fiction author Greg Bear successfully predicted the involvement of specific viruses in speciation (read Darwin’s Radio and Darwin’s Children). This new report attests to the likelihood that the mechanisms may someday be found. Bear’s concept of viral induction of species evolution — with further consideration given after reading this article — also sheds light on differences between what most people call “natural” selection and what some people are beginning to call “social” selection. There may be no evidence of transitionary species in the fossil record because viruses elicited comparatively sudden and dramatic changes in the genotype and phenotype of extant organisms as other organisms became extinct. One of the mechanisms involved in speciation, as indicated by Bear, is likely to be pheromones that signal similarities and differences in species that occupy similar social niches. I’m now suggesting that transfer of genetic material between species — not just single genes, but large segments of genetic code – could rather suddenly result in what might at first appear to be a newly evolved organism. If ever a newly evolved organism is found, it might be a good idea to look around its neighborhood for genetic clues that provide evidence of parenthood, or of Creation.
James Vaughn Kohl was the first to accurately conceptualize human pheromones, and began presenting his findings to the scientific community in 1992. He continues to present to, and publish for, diverse scientific and lay audiences, while constantly monitoring the scientific presses for new information that is relevant to the development of his initial and ongoing conceptualization of human pheromones.
Recently, Kohl integrated scientific evidence that pinpoints the evolved neurophysiological mechanism that links olfactory/pheromonal input to genes in hormone-secreting cells of tissue in a specific area of the brain that is primarily involved in the sensory integration of olfactory and visual input, and in the development of human sexual preferences. His award-winning 2007 article/book chapter on multisensory integration: The Mind’s Eyes: Human pheromones, neuroscience, and male sexual preferences followed an award winning 2001 publication: Human pheromones: integrating neuroendocrinology and ethology, which was coauthored by disinguished researchers from Vienna. Rarely do researchers win awards in multiple disciplines, but Kohl’s 2001 award was for neuroscience, and his 2007 “Reiss Theory” award was for social science.
Kohl has worked as a medical laboratory scientist since 1974, and he has devoted more than twenty-five years to researching the relationship between the sense of smell and the development of human sexual preferences. Unlike many researchers who work with non-human subjects, medical laboratory scientists use the latest technology from many scientific disciplines to perform a variety of specialized diagnostic medical testing on people.
James V. Kohl is certified with:
* American Society for Clinical Pathology
* American Medical Technologists
James V. Kohl is a member of:
* Society for Neuroscience
* Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
* Association for Chemoreception Sciences
* Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
* International Society for Human Ethology
* American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
* Mensa, the international high IQ society
