selfish gene
collocation in Englishmeaningsofselfishandgene
These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withgene.
selfish
adjective
uk/ˈsel.fɪʃ/us/ˈsel.fɪʃ/
Someone who is selfish only thinks of their ...
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gene
noun[C]
uk/dʒiːn/us/dʒiːn/
a part of the DNA in a cell that controls the physical development, behaviour, etc. of an individual plant or animal and is passed on from ...
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(Definition ofselfishandgenefrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)
Examplesofselfish gene
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
They consider this to be a major paradox, because according toselfishgenetheories, liars should possess genetic advantages over truth-tellers.
From theCambridge English Corpus
It just stands for survival value (as in "selfishgene").
From theCambridge English Corpus
Recurrent invasion and extinction of aselfishgene.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Other researchers, generally those who support theselfishgenetheory, question the authenticity of this altruistic behaviour.
From This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
According toselfishgenetheory, individuals may pursue a seemingly irrational strategy to cooperate if it benefits the survival of their genes.
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Wikipedia
The toxin-antitoxin system contained within "skin" forces the inheritance of this element, which is acting as aselfishgene.
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Wikipedia
Aselfishgenecould be favored by selection by producing altruism among organisms containing it.
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Wikipedia
However, hisselfishgenetheory lived on.
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Wikipedia
However, wingless forms are favored due to competition for ovarian development and wings and reproductive success is the main goal due to theselfishgenetheory.
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Wikipedia
Dawkins (1976) emphasizes the notion of genetic replication - his selfish genes.
From theCambridge English Corpus
We are left with a puzzling intellectual challenge: to elucidate how the necessary levels of trust could ever have been compatible with our selfish genes.
From theCambridge English Corpus
They applied aselfishgeneview of evolution to animals' threat displays to see if it would be in their genes' interests to give dishonest signals.
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Wikipedia
These are sometimes interpreted as "selfish genes" or as redundancy in the genome, where later mutations may produce greater complexity during the course of evolution.
From theCambridge English Corpus
As a result, much of the conceptual framework that justifiesselfishgenemodels is regarded by developmental systems theory as not merely weak but actually false.
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Wikipedia
Selfish genes, the phenotype paradigm and genome evolution.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Site-specific selfish genes as tools for the control and genetic engineering of natural populations.
From theCambridge English Corpus
This makes possible a sociobiology that strays too far from the mark when it generalizes and absolutizes concepts such as the genetic program and selfish genes.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Selfish genes, pleiotropy and the origin of recombination.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Maternal-effect, selfish genes in flour beetles.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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