“There is no gene “for” such unambiguous bits of morphology as your left kneecap or your fingernail. […] Hundreds of genes contribute to the building of most body parts and their action is channeled through a kaleidoscopic series of environmental influences: embryonic and postnatal, internal and external. Parts are not translated genes, and selection doesn't even work directly on parts.”

— Stephen Jay Gould , book The Panda's Thumb

"Caring Groups and Selfish Genes", p. 91
The Panda's Thumb (1980)

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Stephen Jay Gould 274

American evolutionary biologist 1941–2002

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“Jacob and Monod found that in bacteria, genes are switched on and off by other genes. This led them to distinguish between effector genes and regulatory genes. Effector genes encode effector proteins… which mediate specific cellular functions. Regulatory genes encode proteins called regulatory proteins, which switch the effector genes on or off.”

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Stephen Jay Gould 274

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