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Dear Judith,
Ihad this topic at diverse forums, including
WEBlists and friendly luncheon meetings of retired professors.
Reproduction (sexual, at least)
is the wrong word, it is a reaction in which 2 different units provide a 3rd one
which is identical to neither of the two.
A real reproduction is mitosis (parthenogenesis
as well).
The PLANT-stuff: total plants from little
parts is closer to cloning.
It activates inactive genetic components to
replenish the total, in a sense it would be an extended repair.
Replication would be in my mind
the process of DNA-RNA, when gene-sstuff gets repicated. (Never mind the
controls).
Molecular reactions over 2 billennia led to
replicating constructs
(in my view through the Cairns-Smith clay
theory) culminating in the double helix so far. Mitosis IMO does not replicate:
it means disproportionation in two. In replication one unit provides a second
identical one. In mitosis neither surviving is labeled as the original one.
I like proliferation, and variants of it.
Stan Salthen contrasted the above 'reproduction'
argument by saying that the reproduction is meant by the species, not the
individual. (It is partially acceptable, because the mutation of species is
within the same concept and ANY step can mutate).
It is nice to play with the words (concepts) and
try to make them 'mean' what we mean they should mean.
John Mikes
(perfectly layish in bio-genet
domains).
PS I guess mules have gender and the females
have a working ovary (have no idea).
It would be interesting to clone one.
JM
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