2.22.2 Discussion on Evolution II: Can Acquired Efforts of Organisms Alter Genes?

"AI Philosophy": Enabling Humans to "Establish Destiny for Themselves" and "Establish a Mind for AI". Discussion on Evolution II: Can the Acquired Endeavors of Organisms Modify Genes? Generally speaking, acquired efforts and alterations fail to change genes. Darwin’s theory of biological evolution describes a disordered, undirected, passive, blind and random process, in which subjective efforts usually bear no fruit. Nevertheless, epigenetics demonstrates that despite leaving the DNA code unchanged, environmental factors such as living habits and stress can regulate gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. Click the plus sign to follow this account for more wonderful content. Acquired endeavors and changes of organisms cannot modify genes in most cases. Lamarckism holds that subjective acquired efforts can exert hereditary impacts on offspring, yet this theory is largely invalid. It echoes Schopenhauer’s "Will to Live" and implies evolution follows a fixed direction. By contrast, Darwin maintained that biological evolution is a disordered, undirected, passive, blind and random process, where subjective efforts rarely work. Even so, Lamarckism contains partial rational elements. Epigenetics proves that while the DNA coding sequence remains intact, gene expression and function can be adjusted, leading to distinctions in cell types and individual traits, and such adjustments can occasionally be stably passed down to descendants. Evolution proceeds objectively mainly through eliminating gene variants unfit for the living environment, with no involvement of subjective factors. Organisms’ subjective acquired efforts cannot alter genes, and gene mutations mostly take place during inheritance. However, environmental factors including lifestyles and stress can affect individual health by regulating gene expression via epigenetic pathways. For instance, physical exercise modulates the expression of genes linked to metabolism, muscle development and cardiovascular function, boosting physical adaptability such as muscle growth and cardiovascular fitness. Such regulatory effects stem from epigenetic modifications including DNA methylation and histone modification, which alter intracellular signaling pathways to activate or suppress specific genes. It should be noted that these modifications never change the inherent DNA sequence of genes. Gene sequences are inherited by the next generation, whereas gene expression states and epigenetic modifications are not necessarily heritable. Although epigenetic changes like DNA methylation can regulate gene expression to some extent, they cannot always be stably transmitted to offspring, due to the intricate transmission mechanisms of epigenetics shaped by multiple variables including surroundings, hereditary factors and the stability of epigenetic marks. I am Wu HuaiYu, a Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a postdoctoral fellow from Peking University, and the founder of "AI Philosophy". For more detailed information, please refer to the complete version of this book. In addition to this short video, you can also click on my avatar to view more long videos. AI Philosophy_Wu HuaiYu(Chinese Academy of Science), the Author's Homepage: http://www.OpenDAI.org; E-Mail: huaiyuwu@sina.com