Selfish-gene theory. The selfish-gene theory of natural selection can be restated as follows: Genes do not present themselves naked to the scrutiny of natural selection, instead they present their phenotypic effects . ... Natural selection acts on the phenotypic differences and thereby on genes.
What does The Selfish Gene theory explain?
Selfish-gene theory. The selfish-gene theory of natural selection can be restated as follows: Genes do not present themselves naked to the scrutiny of natural selection, instead they present their phenotypic effects . ... Natural selection acts on the phenotypic differences and thereby on genes.
Who created The Selfish Gene theory?
It would not perhaps be an exaggeration to say that The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is the most influential book on evolutionary biology since Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species.
What do biologists mean by selfish genes?
Dawkins coined the term selfish gene as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution , which holds that evolution is best viewed as acting on genes and that selection at the level of organisms or populations almost never overrides selection based on genes. ...
How many copies of The Selfish Gene have been sold?
There is no book quite like Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene. Forty years after its first publication, the book is still in Amazon's top 10 for both the Genetics and Evolution categories, with over a million copies sold and more than 25 translated versions.
What is Hamilton's rule?
Specifically, Hamilton's rule states that the change in average trait value in a population is proportional to BR−C . This rule is commonly believed to be a natural law making important predictions in biology, and its influence has spread from evolutionary biology to other fields including the social sciences.
What is an example of a selfish gene?
Examples include cytoplasmic male sterility (see Selfish mitochondria). While mitochondrial and chloroplast genes are generally maternally inherited, B chromosomes can be preferentially transmitted through both males and females.
Are genes really selfish?
It is not that genes can ‘decide' to become selfish, but rather that natural selection preserves genes that are more selfish . It therefore becomes, over the course of evolution, a gene's nature to be selfish.
Do humans have a selfish gene?
The “selfish gene” was a metaphor used by Dawkins to explain gene-based evolution. Genes are not literally selfish any more than rocks are. ... Individual cells in the human body are not selfish , they are in fact highly cooperative and communist.
Why is it called the selfish gene?
Dawkins uses the term “selfish gene” as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution (as opposed to the views focused on the organism and the group), popularising ideas developed during the 1960s by W. D. Hamilton and others.
Are genes immortal?
The genes are immortal in the sense that the gene as a unit endures ; however, not more detail inspection of their DNA sequences and of the sequences of the proteins they encode, and it is a key demonstration of on aspect of the process of natural selection.
Who gave gene theory?
The existence of something like genes was recognized by the Austrian monk Gregor Johann Mendel (1822–1884), whose experiments with breeding different types of pea plants led him to describe what he called “hereditary factors,” or genes.
What Animals use kin selection?
Kin Selection in Social Insects
The honeybee and other social insects provide the clearest example of kin selection. They are also particularly interesting examples because of the peculiar genetic relationships among the family members. Male honeybees (drones) develop from the queen's unfertilized eggs and are haploid.
What is an altruistic act?
Altruism is when we act to promote someone else's welfare , even at a risk or cost to ourselves. ... Evolutionary scientists speculate that altruism has such deep roots in human nature because helping and cooperation promote the survival of our species.
What does it mean if Hamilton's rule is fulfilled?
Of the 10 studies in which there was demonstrated altruism, five found that Hamilton's rule was quantitatively fulfilled, i.e. actor–recipient relatedness (r) and benefit to recipients (b) were both positive and high enough for the total indirect fitness benefit to outweigh the direct fitness cost (−c), such that rb − ...
Are transposons selfish DNA?
Transposable elements are often termed selfish DNA because they are parasitic DNA sequences that inhabit a host genome. Over time, many copies of selfish DNA are inactivated by mutations and deletions, leaving DNA remnants called junk DNA.
