Special lecture in the series 'Science and Culture': Teaching evolution through development
29 April 2003
Prof. Scott Gilbert, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA USAWhen we claim that genetics is 'Darwin's missing evidence,' we usually are referring to population genetics. Here, evolution is defined as changes in gene frequency over time. The population genetics approach explains natural selection with a species and provides some mechanisms for speciation. However, developmental genetics is also part of Darwin's missing evidence. Here, evolution is defined as changes in gene expression over time. Developmental genetics can also provide mechanisms of speciation, and it seeks to explain homology and phylogeny. The developmental genetic approach to evolution is easier to visualize and to comprehend than the population genetic approach. I think that undergraduates and laypeople would much more readily comprehend evolution if it were taught as changes in gene expression than as changes in allele frequency. Moreover, the developmental genetic approach directly counters Creationist literature that denies that scientists can explain evolutionary novelties. I will provide examples of how evolution might be taught in this manner.