One could be forgiven for thinking that biology is in turmoil following recent discoveries that seem to undermine conventional wisdom surrounding the role of genomes in evolution (Ball, 2013). Is the vast excess of genomic DNA—hitherto dismissed as junk—indispensable after all? Are the effects of the environment often transmitted between generations regardless of the information in genes? What is a gene these days anyway? Such speculations are exhilarating, but I suggest that most biologists are not more confused than ever about the role of genes in evolution but, rather, less. Yes, "the very definition of a gene is hotly debated" (Ball, 2013), but no more than it ever was. The perennial student essay topic, "What is a gene?", has become hackneyed through overuse. And the answer to the question is, as ever, "it depends." Leaving the definition flexible has not discernibly hindered the remarkable progress of genetics. Of course, one can never discount the possibility that a scientific revolution will sweep away current perceptions, but this will require a level of scientific rigor that much of the apparently conflicting data currently lacks.
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