Why save pictures of deformities?
May 18, 2008 22:31:16 GMT -10
Post by unclemasa on May 18, 2008 22:31:16 GMT -10
Two reasons:
1. Human curiosity. Are they “freaks” or are they “special” .... or is there a difference?
2. Deformities can sometimes increase our understanding.
For the purposes of this board deformities can be divided into three types:
The least significant of these are those that are the result of unusual or adverse environmental conditions. Unusual heat, cold, humidity, chemicals, etc., can all lead to unusual growth patterns and malformations. When properly diagnosed these malformations can be informative but primarily in the negative.
A second type are the result of genetic mishaps. A bit of DNA is imperfectly replicated, sequences of genetic material get lost or some stray bit of material gets incorporated where it does not belong and results in a morphological aberration. Most of the time these are random errors and provide us with little or no positive information.
A third and the most interesting class of deformities are the result of what might be called a "truncated ontogeny". ‘Ontogeny’ is the development, or stages of development, of an organism. Much insight has been gained in biology from the study of the ways in which different organisms “evolve” from a simple union of two cells, thought various stages, into a highly complex organism. The reasoning goes something like this: A fully developed organism of a particular species is but the most recent manifestation of the developmental potential contained in its genomic structure. A ‘deformity’ or, one might say, a ‘pre-formity’ that is the result of an incomplete, or truncated, ontogeny can perhaps give us a snap-shot of an earlier manifestation of this potential. Its a very intriguing and, historically, much abused idea.
1. Human curiosity. Are they “freaks” or are they “special” .... or is there a difference?
2. Deformities can sometimes increase our understanding.
For the purposes of this board deformities can be divided into three types:
The least significant of these are those that are the result of unusual or adverse environmental conditions. Unusual heat, cold, humidity, chemicals, etc., can all lead to unusual growth patterns and malformations. When properly diagnosed these malformations can be informative but primarily in the negative.
A second type are the result of genetic mishaps. A bit of DNA is imperfectly replicated, sequences of genetic material get lost or some stray bit of material gets incorporated where it does not belong and results in a morphological aberration. Most of the time these are random errors and provide us with little or no positive information.
A third and the most interesting class of deformities are the result of what might be called a "truncated ontogeny". ‘Ontogeny’ is the development, or stages of development, of an organism. Much insight has been gained in biology from the study of the ways in which different organisms “evolve” from a simple union of two cells, thought various stages, into a highly complex organism. The reasoning goes something like this: A fully developed organism of a particular species is but the most recent manifestation of the developmental potential contained in its genomic structure. A ‘deformity’ or, one might say, a ‘pre-formity’ that is the result of an incomplete, or truncated, ontogeny can perhaps give us a snap-shot of an earlier manifestation of this potential. Its a very intriguing and, historically, much abused idea.
