Making Sense with Sam Harris #382 — The Eye of Nature
17 snips
Sep 6, 2024 
In this engaging discussion, Richard Dawkins, a renowned evolutionary biologist and author of The Genetic Book of the Dead, explores the profound connections between genetics and ancestral legacy. He delves into epigenetics, the complexities of predicting phenotypes from genotypes, and the ethical implications surrounding genetic engineering technologies like CRISPR. Dawkins also reflects on human cultural dependence for survival, the role of symbiotic viruses in our evolution, and the future of resurrecting extinct species. A thought-provoking dive into the science of life!
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The Genome as a Palimpsest
- The genome is like a palimpsest, containing traces of an organism's ancestral environments.
- Scientists of the future (SOF) may be able to fully read this "genetic book of the dead."
Genotype vs. Phenotype
- Predicting an organism's phenotype (physical traits) from its genotype (genes) is currently difficult.
- Embryonic development, influenced by genes, plays a crucial role in shaping the phenotype.
Epigenetics and Lamarckism
- Epigenetics, essentially embryology, explains how different cells with the same genes express different traits.
- While some epigenetic changes might be heritable, they don't have the same adaptive power as Lamarckian inheritance.
