The gene is not dead, merely orphaned and seeking a home.
Despite announcements and obituaries, news of the death of the gene has been greatly exaggerated, or so says the gene as it struggles to survive and find a safe haven from which to steer its course through development and evolution. In this short piece, I consider recent claims that the gene is dead. I conclude that the gene is alive and well, living and functioning in the cell, which is both its natural home and a fundamental unit of evo-devo.
Hall
B K
BK
Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. bkh@is.dal.ca
D000818:Animals; D005796:Genes / Q000235:genetics*; D005823:Genetics / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D011506:Proteins / Q000502:physiology
D011506:Proteins