Title:
Gene, Organism and Environment: Bad Metaphors and Good Biology
Speaker:
Richard Lewontin
Subject:
metaphors, DNA
Area:
Biology / Botany
Type of school:
School name:
Country:
United States
Course language:
English (United States)
Course media:
Video
Course duration:
Contributor:
jakob sandvad
Comments:
Gene, Organism and Environment: Bad Metaphors and Good Biology
author: Richard Lewontin
Description:
The standard metaphors used to describe DNA and development are examined, including the claim that DNA "makes" protein, that DNA is "self-replicating" and the organisms "adapt" to their environments. In this lecture by distinguished evolutionary geneticist Richard Lewontin, he explains that DNA is manufactured by the cell machinery, that proteins are folded by rules that are not related to DNA sequence and that organisms, rather than adapting to their environment, are actively engaging in constructing their own environments, so that organisms and environments co-evolve.