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Definition of "pangenesis" []

  • A theory of heredity proposed by Charles Darwin in which gemmules containing hereditary information from every part of the body coalesce in the gonads and are incorporated into the reproductive cells. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "pangenesis" in a sentence
  • "The main inducement leading to the original formu - lation of the idea of pangenesis was the ancients 'rec - ognition that many single characters of the organism can vary quite independently of the rest and can be separately transmitted to offspring."
  • "Despite there being devastating experimental evidence against the notion of pangenesis provided by"
  • "Francis Galton, Charles Darwin stubbornly held to the notion of pangenesis as he had no"