natural selection question

[cynp662]

Can innate knowledge that the species must change to adapt to the envornment cause the female to produce an off spring with a mutated gene that would allow that adaptation? Would that adaptation speed up if a 'connection' between females exist.By the connection I mean , for example women concentrated in one area will synchronize their menstrual cycles.

[kotoreru]

I have no idea what you just asked - sorry. I dont even want to hazard a guess as terms like 'innate knowledge' put us on dodgy ground from the word go...

[cynp662]

Is it possible that we have the innate ability to change the genetic code in our offspring to enable them to adapt to the environment?

[kotoreru]

Ah I see where you are going with this - can we direct the evolution of our offspring?

Hmm. Well, I daresay there is a piece of work somewhere hinting at this in one form or another, but for all intents and purposes I would have to say no.

Quite simply: the natural variation in our offspring is what is put under selective pressures by the environment. We dont 'manually' manifest these variations, they are just there, all the time - advantageous variants are selected for and thus increase in frequency in the population.

I suppose in a way we do have the innate ability to change the genetic code of our potential offspring (or at least sexually reproductive organisms do). But in direct response to the environment? No.

Am I wrong?

This all boils down to using specific terms correctly and precisely.

[Darby]

What's suggested is a kind of neolamarkism - but you don't get what you need, you get what you get, and most times it's not a help.

[mith]

It works for sci-fi shows well enough

[cynp662]

Thank you, I'll keep that in mind if I ever write a sci-fi show.

[Kevo214]

Well we kind of do directly effect the evolution of our offspring. While this isn't the answer you're looking for it is still interesting to bring up that females choose their mates and therefore choose what genes their child can have. This is done purposefully and subconsciously as when a short women mates with a tall man or one with an opposite immune system (yet to be proven I believe) or when a women chooses to have sex with a man because he's got bulging muscles. The womens choice effects the offspring, although she can't just think really hard that she wants her child to have blue eyes and blond hair to save him from the nazis and have it happen (bad analogy I know).

[wbla3335]

Yes, bad analogy. No further comment.

[AstusAleator]

If this could occur, we would probably see much more rapid speciation, especially with the changes in environments that have taken place all across the globe in the last few hundred years. I'm assuming that you're not just talking about humans, but all animals (at least placental mammals...)

So far as I know there is no mechanism that can pre-select for a desired mutation.

A more reasonable hypothesis might be that if an individual is in a stressful environment, their zygotes are more likely to experience mutations due to increased levels of certain hormones, or the presence of other chemicals (oxidizers etc).

Even so, the results of these mutations would be random, within the capability of the genome.
More likely than not, a system like this would result in many unfit offspring, many more dead offspring, and a very few that might have an equal or slightly higher fitness than their parents. This type of selection strategy (if it exists) would only really be practical in a r-selected species that can pump out bazillions of offspring.

[extinct]

Can innate knowledge that the species must change to adapt to the envornment cause the female to produce an off spring with a mutated gene that would allow that adaptation?

She might go after the big one that gets all the energy who happens to carry the "big one" gene. I don't know that she will randomly produce a "big one" when reproducing with the little one.

Would that adaptation speed up if a 'connection' between females exist.By the connection I mean , for example women concentrated in one area will synchronize their menstrual cycles.

if they all got with the big one it would happen sooner

signed - the big one