Editing Evolution (section)

=== Further syntheses ===

Since then, further syntheses have extended evolution's explanatory power in the light of numerous discoveries, to cover biological phenomena across the whole of the [[Biological organisation|biological hierarchy]] from genes to populations.{{sfn|Levinson|2019}}

The publication of the structure of [[DNA]] by [[James Watson]] and [[Francis Crick]] with contribution of [[Rosalind Franklin]] in 1953 demonstrated a physical mechanism for inheritance.<ref name="Watson-1953">{{cite journal |last1=Watson |first1=J. D. |author-link1=James Watson |last2=Crick |first2=F. H. C. |author-link2=Francis Crick |date=25 April 1953 |title=Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid |url=http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/B/B/Y/W/_/scbbyw.pdf |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=171 |issue=4356 |pages=737–738 |bibcode=1953Natur.171..737W |doi=10.1038/171737a0 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=13054692 |s2cid=4253007 |access-date=4 December 2014 |quote=It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823063212/http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/B/B/Y/W/_/scbbyw.pdf |archive-date=23 August 2014}}</ref> [[Molecular biology]] improved understanding of the relationship between [[genotype]] and [[phenotype]]. Advances were also made in phylogenetic [[systematics]], mapping the transition of traits into a comparative and testable framework through the publication and use of [[evolutionary trees]].<ref name="Hennig99">{{harvnb|Hennig|1999|p=280}}</ref> In 1973, evolutionary biologist [[Theodosius Dobzhansky]] penned that "[[nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution]]", because it has brought to light the relations of what first seemed disjointed facts in natural history into a coherent [[explanatory]] body of knowledge that describes and predicts many observable facts about life on this planet.<ref name="Dobzhansky-1973">{{cite journal |last=Dobzhansky |first=Theodosius |s2cid=207358177 |author-link=Theodosius Dobzhansky |date=March 1973 |title=Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution |url=http://www.phil.vt.edu/Burian/NothingInBiolChFina.pdf |journal=The American Biology Teacher |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=125–129 |doi=10.2307/4444260 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023161423/http://www.phil.vt.edu/Burian/NothingInBiolChFina.pdf |archive-date=23 October 2015 |jstor=4444260 |citeseerx=10.1.1.324.2891}}</ref>

One extension, known as [[evolutionary developmental biology]] and informally called "evo-devo", emphasises how changes between generations (evolution) act on patterns of change within individual organisms ([[Developmental biology|development]]).<ref name="Kutschera-2004">{{cite journal |last1=Kutschera |first1=Ulrich |author-link1=Ulrich Kutschera |last2=Niklas |first2=Karl J. |author-link2=Karl J. Niklas |date=June 2004 |title=The modern theory of biological evolution: an expanded synthesis |journal=[[Naturwissenschaften]] |volume=91 |issue=6 |pages=255–276 |bibcode=2004NW.....91..255K |doi=10.1007/s00114-004-0515-y |issn=1432-1904 |pmid=15241603 |s2cid=10731711}}</ref><ref name="Avise10">{{cite journal |last1=Avise |first1=John C. |author-link1=John Avise |last2=Ayala |first2=Francisco J. |author-link2=Francisco J. Ayala |date=11 May 2010 |title=In the light of evolution IV: The human condition |url=http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/johncavise/files/2011/03/311-intro-to-ILE-IV.pdf |journal=PNAS |volume=107 |issue=Suppl. 2 |pages=8897–8901 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1003214107 |pmid=20460311 |pmc=3024015 |issn=0027-8424 |access-date=29 December 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823063532/http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/johncavise/files/2011/03/311-intro-to-ILE-IV.pdf |archive-date=23 August 2014 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Since the beginning of the 21st century, some biologists have argued for an [[extended evolutionary synthesis]], which would account for the effects of non-genetic inheritance modes, such as [[epigenetics]], [[Maternal effect|parental effects]], ecological inheritance and [[Dual inheritance theory|cultural inheritance]], and [[evolvability]].<ref name="Danchin-2011">{{cite journal |last1=Danchin |first1=Étienne |last2=Charmantier |first2=Anne |last3=Champagne |first3=Frances A. |author-link3=Frances Champagne |last4=Mesoudi |first4=Alex |last5=Pujol |first5=Benoit |last6=Blanchet |first6=Simon |date=June 2011 |title=Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution |journal=[[Nature Reviews Genetics]] |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=475–486 |doi=10.1038/nrg3028 |issn=1471-0056 |pmid=21681209 |s2cid=8837202}}</ref><ref name="eesbook">{{harvnb|Pigliucci|Müller|2010}}</ref>