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    The Epigenetic Caterpillar: An Alternative to the Darwinian view of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon
    The Epigenetic Caterpillar: An Alternative to the Darwinian view of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon
    The Epigenetic Caterpillar: An Alternative to the Darwinian view of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon
    Ebook63 pages1 hour

    The Epigenetic Caterpillar: An Alternative to the Darwinian view of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon

    By Maria B. O'Hare

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    About this ebook

    Briefly, the Darwinian model would interpret the industrial melanism of moth as follows:
    a change in color from light to dark and back again in generations of moths due to industrial smog in England in the 19th century, is classically explained as the darker colored moths had an advantage that protected them from bird predation as they possessed the most adaptable genetic variation that helped them avoid the birds (the bird is the environmental selector in this case). Darker moths were more protected in the smog conditions therefore, as birds would see the lighter colored moths better (I would just like to mention though, I'm not sure birds like moths - but I know they love juicy caterpillars) as they would stand out more against the blackened trees, thus the moths with the genetic tendency for dark color would eventually avoid most of the bird predation and after generations tended to be more dark in color, thereby outcompeting their lighter-colored moth cousins and producing more of the darker varieties.

    There is, however, another scientific explanation. It is called Epigenetics (meaning beyond the genes) Take for example, a caterpillar with exactly the same genes as its adult form - a butterfly. According to the Neo-Darwinian genetic version of evolution, this creature having the same genes should look the same or at least similar. They obviously don't. A caterpillar looks nothing like a flying insect. The explanation would appear to be in their different genetic expression of the same genes, at different times and in different combinations and according to environmental cues, which is exactly the way epigenetics operates. It makes dramatic changes to the expression of genes and therefore the creature, but it doesn't change the DNA sequence itself. Metamorphosis is a classic epigenetic phenomenon.

    This little booklet: The epigenetic caterpillar will therefore re-evaluate the traditional interpretation of the Peppered Moth phenomenon from an epigenetic perspective. Furthermore, Darwin himself never excluded environmental drivers of evolution (epigenetics in modern parlance) the way his later supporters did. Today, our modern synthesis has entirely banned any other way of evolutionary change, other than to say that all organism can only inherit their genes (with variation through time) directly from your ancestors. The epigentic type of evolution challenges this most fundamental tenet of our modern theory of evolution.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMaria B. O'Hare
    Release dateOct 18, 2014
    ISBN9781311218070
    The Epigenetic Caterpillar: An Alternative to the Darwinian view of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon
    Author

    Maria B. O'Hare

    Although my main academic training is in Archaeology (PhD), as my research became increasingly independent, I began digging around some old dusty long forgotten archives and soon discovered that our current genetically-driven concept of evolutionary dynamics itself evolved and often, not by natural means. I began to realise that there had always been well-founded scientifically sound criticism of our Darwinian model and indeed, perfectly plausible alternatives, hence, as these exciting and much aligned alternatives are finally beginning to get the scientific recognition they have always deserved, I began writing about these in a blog entitled: digging up the future dot com This research and ongoing discoveries have made their way into several publications listed here (See the 'Little Book of Evolutionary Quotes', 'The Epigenetic Caterpillar: An Alternative View of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon', 'Lamarck and the Sad Tale of the Blind Cave Fish' and watch out for forthcoming book about D'Arcy Thompson's dynamic evolutionary model). Another related book - soon to be released, is entitled: 'Don't Count Your Children Until They've Had the Pox' which explores a very different form of non-genetic generational immunity using original death statistics from some of the deadliest contagions known to humankind with a focus on Ireland and comparing these with other developed nations. Other publications by the author range from self-publishing to science fiction dealing with a futuristic (evolutionary) genetics theme and are also published under the imprint: DiG-Press. See the full story of how I became a writer can be found at writing.ie https://www.writing.ie/tell-your-own-story/how-to-make-a-book-by-maria-b-ohare/ Cheers MariaBrigit

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      Book preview

      The Epigenetic Caterpillar - Maria B. O'Hare

      THE EPIGENETIC CATERPILLAR

      AN ALTERNATIVE TO:

      THE DARWINIAN VIEW OF THE PEPPERED MOTH PHENONMENON

      BY

      MARIA B. O’HARE

      PHD.

      Front cover image

      The Moths of the British Isles

      Plate 40

      Second DiGital Edition

      With endorsement added & corrections February 2015

      First published in November 2014

      DIG-PRESS

      © 2015 by Maria B. O’Hare

      http://www.diggingupthefuture.com/

      What I hope you will get from reading this book

      I was delighted to get a very early and most supportive Five Star review of this book on Amazon UK, before it was even in full circulation (first series). I believe it expresses exactly what I hope you will get from reading this little book:

      Review of Epigenetic Caterpillar 14th Jan 2015

      "…I bought this book for my father, and want to share his comments on the book. I have recently read a wanted and received present, 'The Epigenetic Caterpillar' by Maria Brigit O'Hare. I was so delighted to have had my 60 year old understanding of the subject, which was belittled by my teachers at the time, reinforced by this great little book. It was informative and explanatory, but not too technical, and will cause many who read it to question their indoctrinated simplistic Darwinism thoughts on the subject of Evolution. A great read, and a must have for anyone who has an interest in this topic.

      However... I must be perfectly honest

      ...from the outset and tell you that my ‘formal qualifications’ for writing about epigenetics is absolutely zilch, other than I have immersed myself deeply in the topic ever since I began to fathom its significance for our current view of evolution. Even my qualifications for writing about caterpillars are pretty sparse and I can’t say that Peppered Moths are my specialism either. I’m a research archaeologist, but I should say that I was once warned that there was no future in archaeology, and that is perhaps why I found my skills being put to other uses and ended up researching this fascinating topic instead.

      What’s in the Book?

      I have used the epigenetic caterpillar example because a caterpillar has exactly the same genes as its adult form - a butterfly/moth, and yet it looks nothing like a flying insect. The dramatically different characters and traits displayed within the same insect depending on which form it is in (e.g. stage of development or metamorphosis), is fully explicable by environmental/epigenetic means as studies show. ‘Epi’ means above or beyond and when it is used in the context of genetics (epigenetics), it means that the expression of genes can be altered without actually changing the genetic code or sequence, yet epigenetic modification can have rather dramatic results.

      The Epigenetic Caterpillar is therefore a good analogy to help conceptualise an alternative version of evolution and to specifically address industrial melanism of peppered moths, a famous text-book case of what has often been described as: Darwinian evolution via natural selection in action. It would appear, now having thoroughly researched this topic in great depth using the most up-to-date scientific literature, that the Neo-Darwinian explanation of colour change in moths cannot have been caused by genetic variation (inherited beneficial or neutral mutations), but via environmentally-driven EPIGENETIC processes instead. Hence the title of this book is the Epigenetic Caterpillar and the sub-title is: An Alternative to the Darwinian view of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon. I really do hope you get something meaningful from reading the rest of this book and all constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated.

      Cheers

      MariaBrigit

      THE EPIGENETIC CATERPILLAR

      EDITED BY NÓRA GERAGHTY

      Dedicated To

      FONN

      &

      TOM

      Table of Contents

      A New Synthesis is Dawning

      Epigenetic Caterpillar

      Lamarckian Epigenetic Evolution

      The Epigenetic Caterpillar & the Peppered Moth Saga

      An Alternative View of the Peppered Moth Phenomenon

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