Abstract
THE fact that the word ‘epigenetics’ is reminiscent of ‘epigenesis’ is to my mind one of the points in its favour. As Dr. Wightman points out, in the old controversy, now stilled, between the theories of epigenesis and preformationism, neither side emerged completely victorious. We all realize that, by the time development begins, the zygote contains certain ‘preformed’ characters, but that these must interact with one another, in processes of ‘epigenesis’, before the adult condition is attained. The study of the ‘preformed’ characters nowadays belongs to the discipline known as genetics; the name ‘epigenetics’ is suggested for the study of those processes which constitute the epigenesis which is also involved in development. Admittedly the word ‘genetics’, which was coined by Bateson to cover “the physiology of descent”, might have been used so as to embrace both aspects of development; but in practice it has not been widely employed in that sense.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
WADDINGTON, C. Embryology, Epigenetics and Biogenetics. Nature 177, 1241 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/1771241a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1771241a0
This article is cited by
-
Epigenetic this, epigenetic that: comparing two digital humanities methods for analyzing a slippery scientific term
Synthese (2023)
-
Epigenetics in modulating immune functions of stromal and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment
Cellular & Molecular Immunology (2020)
-
Cells as irreducible wholes: the failure of mechanism and the possibility of an organicist revival
Biology & Philosophy (2013)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.