Abstract
The rapid progress in the identification of genes and their structural and functional properties has led to a tremendous growth of knowledge of molecular and mechanistic aspects of life processes. As a consequence, the gene concept has undergone a major revolution. Genes are no longer the cause of development and form in living things. They only provide necessary, but not sufficient conditions. A true understanding of life and its processes makes a contextual approach mandatory. It integrates genes, phenotypic traits of organisms and environmental qualities. This approach is the conceptual synthesis of all the observable aspects of what is called a “living being”. Contextual biology exhibits consequences in all biological sciences. As an example, the genetics of adaptive mutations are described and a transition from gene-centred to organism-centered inheritance is proposed.
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Wirz, J. (1997). DNA at the edge of contextual biology. In: Wirz, J., van Bueren, E.T.L. (eds) The future of DNA. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5494-9_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5494-9_8
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