Abstract
THE origin of species in Nature is still one of our greatest outstanding problems, and consequently any fresh information which seems to bear on the question is worthy of scrutiny. The object of this communication is to suggest a new direction in which inquiry may be useful. Our present knowledge seems to indicate that species in Nature are far more constant than they were formerly thought to be. Variation seems to depend on the regrouping of the different genes of the parents: it is limited by the combination possibilities of the genes and is less influenced by the environment. Hybridisation cannot be regarded as a sufficient explanation of the origin of new species unless accompanied by nuclear changes. But, on the other hand, there can be no doubt of the reality of mutations. Spartina Townshendi is a new species which has originated and spread under observation, and there is evidence which suggests that many other forms may have originated in a similar way in Nature. Among plants and insects raised in cultivation, many mutations have been recorded and studied. Thus while we have evidence of plant species existing over very long periods essentially unchanged, as we know from fossil and sub-fossil evidence, we also know that sudden change is possible. It is difficult to conceive that such changes are spontaneous; we must search for some external cause in the environment.
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Thomas, H. Cosmic Rays and the Origin of Species. Nature 137, 51–53 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137051a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137051a0
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