Taxacom: =?utf-8?q?Croizat=E2=80=99s_form-making=2C_RNA_networks?= =?utf-8?q?=2C_and_biogeography?=

[John Grehan]

Had off list comments sent to me, and since the posting was to everyone in
general and I am interested in open discussions rather than private debate,
it seems to me to be appropriate to post the comments here, along with my
observations, but keeping confidentiality of the correspondent.

"Sounds like good pseudo-science, if not gibberish to me."

Can't please everyone. Prevailing appeals to teleology in biology seems
like gibberish to me, but seems quite acceptable for many/most evolutionary
biologists. A lot of the geophysics in tectonic research is gibberish to
me, due to an unfortunate lack of comprehension of the math and the physics
often involved, not to mention quite complex geological chemistry. But I
don't view geophysics (astrophysics, quantum mechanics etc.) as gibberish
simply because of my lack of comprehension (although I do sometimes wonder
about quantum mechanics :).

"Just the first sentence is weird: "*In a recent article on the botanist
and biogeographer L?on Croizat (1894?1982), *??
How can a guy who died 40 years ago at age 88 have written a ?*recent paper*
??"

I see the confusion here as they were citing quite a few of Croizat's
works, but they were referring to Morrone 2021 as the recent paper, not
Croizat.

"The quote from West-Eberhard 2011 in the intro quotes is equally
meaningless: "*By imagining that there is a one-to-one relationship between
genes and phenotype*?? Literally NOBODY thinks that today, at least not in
developmental biology or evo-devo (I got my PhD in embryology in 1997, when
this concept was already outdated)."

Good to hear that. But there are a lot of evolutionary scenarios that
appeal to selection of some single gene to meet some presumed 'advantage'
to explain a particular adaptation etc.

Cheers, John

On Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 7:24?PM John Grehan <calabar.john at gmail.com> wrote:

> New open access paper just published:
>
> Mahlfeld & Parenti 2023. Croizat?s form-making, RNA networks, and
> biogeography.   History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 45
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1007%2Fs40656-023-00597-0&data%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C5df62d6cd1bd4fe949b308dbf08d14f0%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638368260984761424%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OvEcEWPfnIu6cNc5W9%2F89P2nJYReeFA8r7Us4CFUfgY%3D&reserved=0
>
> Puts to rest the absurd notions sometimes thrown around that
> Croizat's perspective on evolution is somehow 'out of date' or incongruous
> with 'modern science' (some where even trying that one on back in 1980).
>
> Abstract
> Advances in technology have increased our knowledge of the processes that
> effect genomic changes and of the roles of RNA networks in
> biocommunication, functionality, and evolution of genomes. Natural genetic
> engineering and genomic inscription occur at all levels of life: cell
> cycles, development, and evolution. This has implications for phylogenetic
> studies and for biogeography, particularly given the general acceptance of
> using molecular clocks as arbiters between vicariance and dispersal
> explanations in biogeography. L?on Croizat?s development of panbiogeography
> and his explanation for the distribution patterns of organisms are based on
> concepts of dispersal, differential form-making, and ancestor that differ
> from concepts of descent used broadly in phylogenetic and biogeographic
> studies. Croizat?s differential form-making is consistent with the
> extensive roles ascribed to RNAs in development and evolution and recent
> discoveries of genome studies. Evolutionary-developmental biology
> (evo-devo), including epigenetics, and the role of RNAs should be
> incorporated into biogeography.
>
> --
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> link, then the 'Ghost Moth Research page' link.
>


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