modern synthesis

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modern synthesis (neo-Darwinism) The fusion of Mendelian genetics and Darwin's natural selection to produce a more comprehensive evolutionary theory than either can offer separately. Darwin showed that evolution involves selection interacting with variation within populations, Mendel that the bases of this variation are discrete units of heredity (genes). A further synthesis (the synthetic theory) has been achieved in recent years with the incorporation of knowledge of evolution at the molecular level.

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