NEWSYN
Internalist vs externalist evolutionary biology: do we need a New Synthesis?
| Coordinatore | THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
Organization address
address: OXFORD ROAD contact info |
| Nazionalità Coordinatore | United Kingdom [UK] |
| Totale costo | 230˙110 € |
| EC contributo | 230˙110 € |
| Programma | FP7-PEOPLE
Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) |
| Code Call | FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-1-IOF |
| Funding Scheme | MC-IOF |
| Anno di inizio | 2009 |
| Periodo (anno-mese-giorno) | 2009-02-23 - 2013-04-28 |
Partecipanti
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
Organization address
address: OXFORD ROAD contact info |
UK (MANCHESTER) | coordinator | 0.00 |
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Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)
'The theory of evolution is fragmented by two different views of life: the externalist and the internalist perspective. From the formulation of the theory of natural selection by Darwin, in 1859, externalist view has dominated in evolutionary thought. In the last decades, internalist perspective has recovered vigour in the light of recent empirical advances in molecular genetics. An alternative theory is emerging. The major aim of this project is to contribute to the development of a common conceptual framework that will eventually facilitate a true integration of these century-old perspectives. We will reach the philosophy of science to analyse the conceptual framework of these evolutionary theories. Furthermore, in an effort to show the importance of the philosophy for science, the second principal goal consists to finding out exactly what is implied by the contrast between the two perspectives, as far as empirical claims are concerned.'
Introduzione (Teaser)
Development in many organisms uses a restricted set of physical processes to produce functionally and morphologically diverse features. How the dynamics of development have evolved to shape these phenotypes is yet to be determined.
Descrizione progetto (Article)
Exposure of chick embryos to certain teratogens can induce beak shape variation. This variation resembles that observed in nature, which evolved by natural selection and other processes. These observations indicate that internal factors have an important role in evolution necessitate alternative explanations for the developmental changes involved in such abrupt transitions of form.
In this context, scientists on the EU-funded 'Internalist vs externalist evolutionary biology: do we need a new synthesis?' (NEWSYN) project set out to study how developmental processes determine evolution experimentally.
They used beak development in the chick embryo as a model to analyse the transformations of the face in valproic acid-treated embryos. Morphometric analysis revealed that changes in face budding early in development precede the formation of a curved beak later on.
Work on the evolution of the skull shape in other bird species revealed that similar evolutionary patterns are seen in distantly related species with dissimilar lifestyles. This again suggested that the cause of their origination was not functional demand but rather the process of skull development.
Taken together, the NEWSYN experiments suggested that genes alone do not induce a particular phenotype. Rather they act indirectly to mobilise certain physical processes that produce a special characteristic. Evidence that evolution is driven by complex intrinsic changes and not just natural selection contributes to current debates concerning evolutionary theory.