Lamarckian Experimentalist Paul Kammerer - Fraud Or Founder Of Epigenetics?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - 15:14
in Earth & Climate
Should early 20th century researcher Paul Kammerer be credited as the founder of epigenetics? It would certainly be a dramatic change from current perceptions of his work. Kammerer, a leading proponent of the Lamarckian theory of evolution, achieved global prominence in the 1920's by arguing that acquired traits could be passed down through generations and, in his most controversial experiment, forced land dweller midwife toads to live in water. Their offspring preferred to live and mate in water and by the third generation he noted that they began to develop black nuptial pads on their forelimbs, a feature common to water dwelling species. read more