Evolution Updated
The modern understanding of evolutionary biology is over half a century old. New understandings of genetics in the mid 1900’s was used to update Darwin’s reigning theory of evolution. This culmination is referred to as the Modern Synthesis. When you take a class in biology, starting in elementary school (apart from schools that feel it appropriate to teach creationism), what is being taught is largely rooted in the Modern Synthesis. It combines genetic underpinnings with many of the classic examples of evolutionarily stable strategies. There is, however a growing contingent of biologists who would like to see a radical rethinking of the Modern Synthesis. They do not deny the science of modern evolution, nor wish to throw it out. What they are attempting is to broaden it, calling the new version the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis.
I cannot reiterate strongly enough, the backing for the Modern Synthesis in the scientific community is still incredibly strong. Many Biologists actively deny the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. For good reason. The Modern Synthesis captures many of the complexities of heredity and evolution through competition and genetics. It explains why some people get genetic diseases and why antibiotics are susceptible to failure. The proponents of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis agree. However they feel that the recent discoveries in a broad range of evolutionary biology call for a new understanding and framing of evolution.
We inherit more than genes. We inherit certain cellular molecules in the womb, we inherit learned behaviors and environments. There are other rules and systems that shape our evolution. The field of epigenetics is one such field, the study of inherited gene expression. A parent can pass on chemical markers that can persist in fetal development for generations. Signals from the environment can change epigenetic markers allowing individuals to adjust. This is a kind of inheritance is an extension of natural selection Then there are things which natural selection does not necessarily account for all changes. In some cases the genetics of an organism may be constrained such that natural selection can’t create every variation. Then there are creatures like beavers or humans which actively shape the environment rather than simply optimizing over generations of life’s and death’s. Evolution has always been complex, it’s only going to get more so.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/11/the-biologists-who-want-to-overhaul-evolution/508712/