Thread: Let's discuss evolution from a scientific perspective -not for Creationist, anti-scientific argument

Apparently mice that are taught aversion to a particular smell will pass on that aversion to their offspring, even if the offspring have never encountered the smell themselves and have no reason whatsoever to associate it with fear or aversion, according to this NatGeo article:

Mice Inherit the Fears of their Fathers

Do these experiments point to the possibility that natural selection isn't as random as it's believed to be, at least among the Dawkins-style "Selfish Gene" camp? If newly-acquired knowledge can be encoded directly into DNA and passed on to the next generation, what does that mean about the supposed randomness of genetic mutations?

I'd appreciate hearing from anybody who knows more about the subject of evolutionary biology and especially this interesting subject of possibly directed mutation.

***Please note change in the title. Added this: not for Creationist or other anti-scientific arguments

Please respect thread starters parameter for this debate. - admin