neo-Darwinism

[nee-oh-dahr-wi-niz-uhm]

noun

Biology.

1. the theory of evolution as expounded by later students of Charles Darwin, especially Weismann, holding that natural selection accounts for evolution and denying the inheritance of acquired characters.

2. any modern theory of evolution holding that species evolve by natural selection acting on genetic variation.

Neo-Darwinism

/ ˌniːəʊˈdɑːwɪnˌɪzəm /

noun

1. the modern version of the Darwinian theory of evolution, which incorporates the principles of genetics to explain how inheritable variations can arise by mutation

Neo-Darwinism

1. Darwinism as modified by the findings of modern genetics, stating that mutations due to random copying errors in DNA cause variation within a population of individual organisms and that natural selection acts upon these variations.

Other Word Forms

• Neo-Darwinian adjective
• neo-Darwinian adjective
• neo-Darwinist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Neo-Darwinism¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

The overwhelming majority of biologists and geneticists are neo-Darwinists, and one primary tenet of neo-Darwinism is the idea that the genetic mutations which cause living creatures to evolve occur randomly.

From Salon

Neo-Darwinism refers to any branch of science which combines Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection with Gregor Mendel's discipline of genetics.

From Salon

This might cause some of neo-Darwinism's tenets to be revised.

From Salon

"This shows empirically for the first time a directional response of mutation to a specific long-term environmental pressure. This sort of result cannot be explained by neo-Darwinism, which is limited to explaining minor, gross-level effects on average mutation rates, not responses of specific mutations to specific environmental pressures. Therefore, the implications are that here there is an empirical finding that neo-Darwinism really cannot explain, which challenges the notion of random mutation on a fundamental level."

From Salon

"The research tells us many things, including the fact that the origination rate of the HbS mutation cannot be explained from the perspective of neo-Darwinism," Livnat told Salon.

From Salon