Atavism

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Atavism (disambiguation).
Early embryos of various species display some ancestral features, like the tail on this human embryo. These features normally disappear in later development, but it may not happen if the animal has an atavism.[1][2]

In

trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations.[3] Atavisms can occur in several ways,[4] one of which is when genes for previously existing phenotypic features are preserved in DNA, and these become expressed through a mutation that either knocks out the dominant genes for the new traits or makes the old traits dominate the new one.[3] A number of traits can vary as a result of shortening of the fetal development of a trait (neoteny) or by prolongation of the same. In such a case, a shift in the time a trait is allowed to develop before it is fixed can bring forth an ancestral phenotype.[5] Atavisms are often seen as evidence of evolution.[6]

In social sciences, atavism is the tendency of reversion. For example, people in the modern era reverting to the ways of thinking and acting of a former time.

The word atavism is derived from the Latin atavus—a great-great-great-grandfather or, more generally, an ancestor.

Biology

Evolutionarily traits that have disappeared phenotypically do not necessarily disappear from an organism's DNA. The gene sequence often remains, but is inactive. Such an unused gene may remain in the genome for many generations.[4][7] As long as the gene remains intact, a fault in the genetic control suppressing the gene can lead to it being expressed again. Sometimes, the expression of dormant genes can be induced by artificial stimulation.

Atavisms have been observed in humans, such as with infants born with

vestigial tails (called a "coccygeal process", "coccygeal projection", or "caudal appendage").[8] Atavism can also be seen in humans who possess large teeth, like those of other primates.[9] In addition, a case of "snake heart", the presence of "coronary circulation and myocardial architecture [that closely] resemble those of the reptilian heart", has also been reported in medical literature.[10] Atavism has also recently been induced in avian dinosaur (bird) fetuses to express dormant ancestral non-avian dinosaur (non-bird) features, including teeth.[11]

Other examples of observed atavisms include:

Culture

Atavism is a term in

Austro-Hungarian Empire) pulled the liberal Europe into war, and that the liberal regimes of the other continental powers did not cause it. He used this idea to say that liberalism and commerce would continue to have a soothing effect in international relations, and that war would not arise between nations which are connected by commercial ties.[29] This latter idea is very similar to the later Golden Arches theory
.

University of London professor Guy Standing has identified three distinct sub-groups of the precariat, one of which he refers to as "atavists", who long for what they see as a lost past.[30]

Social Darwinism

During the interval between the acceptance of

evolutionary progress, as development towards a greater complexity and a superior ability.[citation needed
]

In addition, the concept of atavism as part of an individualistic explanation of the causes of criminal deviance was popularised by the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso in the 1870s.[31] He attempted to identify physical characteristics common to criminals and labeled those he found as atavistic, 'throw-back' traits that determined 'primitive' criminal behavior. His statistical evidence and the closely related idea of eugenics have long since been abandoned by the scientific community, but the concept that physical traits may affect the likelihood of criminal or unethical behavior in a person still has some scientific support.[32]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Multi-cell Organisms". Universe-review.ca. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
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  5. ISBN 978-0-521-73233-8
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  8. ^ "29+ Evidences for Macroevolution: Part 2". Archived from the original on 29 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  9. ^ "What our tails tell us". Los Angeles Times. 2007-02-15. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  10. PMID 21224948
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  11. ^ "Dino-Chicken Gets One Step Closer". Live Science. 19 May 2015.
  12. ^ Hiroko Tabuchi (November 5, 2006), Dolphin May Have 'Remains' of Legs, Livescience.com
  13. PMID 15373256
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  14. ^ Simpson, G. G. (1951), Horses: The story of the horse family in the modern world and through sixty million years of evolution, Oxford University Press[page needed]
  15. ^ Raynauad, A. (1977), Somites and early morphogenesis in reptile limbs. In Vertebrate Limb and Somite Morphogenesis, Cambridge University Press, London, pp. 373–386
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    JSTOR 1367290
  22. JSTOR 1366113
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  24. ^ William E. Castle (1906), The origin of a polydactylous race of guinea-pigs (49 ed.), Carnegie Institution of Washington
  25. PMID 17438282
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  26. doi:10.1163/156853889x00340
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  27. PMID 6373560
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  29. ^ Joseph Schumpeter (1969). "Imperialism and Capitalism". Imperialism and Social Classes. Cleveland: The World Publishing Company.
  30. ^ Guy Standing (2016-11-09). "Meet the precariat, the new global class fuelling the rise of populism". World Economic Forum.
  31. ^ "Lombroso and the pathological perspective can be traced back to the 19th century following a history of demonic and classical perspectives". Criminology.fsu.edu. 2000-11-27. Archived from the original on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
  32. PMID 21733897
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External links

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