"There is no gene “for” such unambiguous bits of morphology as your left kneecap or your fingernail. […] Hundreds of genes contribute to the building of most body parts and their action is channeled through a kaleidoscopic series of environmental influences: embryonic and postnatal, internal and external. Parts are not translated genes, and selection doesn't even work directly on parts."
Stephen Jay Gould

January 1, 1970

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Original Language: English

Sources

"Caring Groups and Selfish Genes", p. 91

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Jay_Gould