Abstract
THE conception of the gene has resulted from two lines of biological evidence: (1) The amazing stability of the germ plasm, as expressed in the facts of heredity; (2) its occasional instability, as shown by the occurrence of mutations. That external forces, such as X-rays, impinging upon the germinal material should produce changes, is not surprising but inevitable. That the resulting effects are inherited, however, shows that the organism is incapable of regulating against changes in this particular part of its cell structure.
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GATES, R. The General Nature of the Gene Concept. Nature 132, 768–770 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/132768a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/132768a0
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