acquired characteristic

(Biology) a characteristic of an organism that results from increased use or disuse of an organ or the effects of the environment and cannot be inherited. See also Lamarckism

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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References in periodicals archive

Yet Darwin's ignorance of heredity led him to continue explaining evolution in terms of acquired characteristic evolutionary changes.

On the Origin of Species

* Acquired characteristics mean the income and wealth associated with someone's own college education.

Born on Third Base?

That process allows acquired characteristics to become inherited.

The Holy Grail of genetic engineering for nearly 50 years

It, too, talked about acquired characteristics, but not as an alternative to Darwinism.

When biology meets ideology: a new book reopens a notorious case of bungled science in the Soviet Union

Also, Glass discusses Darwin's book Pangenesis in which Darwin reintroduces the old Lamarckian idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. He goes on to describe it as Darwin's "great blunder" (p.

Exploring Faith and Reason: The Reconciliation of Christianity and Biological Evolution

The results suggest that many plants acquired characteristics that helped them thrive in colder climates -- such as dying back to the roots in winter -- long before they first encountered freezing.

Clues to How Plants Evolved to Cope With Cold

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