Neo-Darwinism

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Neo-Darwinism \Ne`o-Dar"win*ism\, n.
     The theory which holds natural selection, as explained by
     Darwin, to be the chief factor in the evolution of plants and
     animals, and denies the inheritance of acquired characters;
     -- esp. opposed to {Neo-Lamarckism}. Weismannism is an
     example of extreme Neo-Darwinism. -- {Ne`o-Dar*win"i*an}, a.


     & n.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Weismannism \Weis"mann*ism\, n. (Biol.)
     The theories and teachings in regard to heredity propounded
     by the German biologist August Weismann, esp. in regard to
     germ plasm as the basis of heredity and the impossibility of
     transmitting acquired characteristics; -- often called
     {neo-Darwinism}.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Neo-Darwinism
       n : a modern Darwinian theory that explains new species in terms
           of genetic mutations