Talk:The Hologenome Theory of Evolution: Difference between revisions

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Sometimes it can be difficult to write about the absolute newest theories of biology because much of it sounds like poppycock; however, some of the most important postulates of our time started in this way, and the hologenome hypothesis may be another of these theories which overturn many preexisting notions of biology. Doubtlessly it is a complex idea, and I can tell that you have researched this a lot, but I feel that you are struggling a bit to explain it in this article. Mainly, the section entitled "The Hologenome Theory" is where the ideas behind this concept should be clearly defined; however, it comes off more as a summary of the coral bleaching phenomenon. Even though the inspiration for this theory may have come from observations of coral bleaching, the major emphasis of this section should be on explaining the theory. Otherwise, I like the idea and will be anxious to see how you improve.
Sometimes it can be difficult to write about the absolute newest theories of biology because much of it sounds like poppycock; however, some of the most important postulates of our time started in this way, and the hologenome hypothesis may be another of these theories which overturn many preexisting notions of biology. Doubtlessly it is a complex idea, and I can tell that you have researched this a lot, but I feel that you are struggling a bit to explain it in this article. Mainly, the section entitled "The Hologenome Theory" is where the ideas behind this concept should be clearly defined; however, it comes off more as a summary of the coral bleaching phenomenon. Even though the inspiration for this theory may have come from observations of coral bleaching, the major emphasis of this section should be on explaining the theory. Otherwise, I like the idea and will be anxious to see how you improve.
I think your page would benefit the most from a tighter definition of the Hologenome Theory right up front. Your first sentence in the introduction sort of defines the theory, but not completely, and then you launch into an example (the Coral Probiotic hypothesis) before you introduce some key definitions (which come right after the coral example). The theory is difficult to explain, but it is hard to see why your example is important without first understanding what the theory is. Also (and I don't know if this is possible), it would help to have more examples of studies that support this hypothesis. The coral and fruit fly examples are great but this theory is probably based on more evidence than just those studies. It might also help to explain how bacteria helping an organism to become more or less fit is a new form of evolution: It seems like the bacteria could be considered a natural environmental factor (like temperature, food availability, predation) that would influence natural selection in the same ways described in Darwin's theory (i.e. that organisms with the trait (bacteria) survive, while those without it, don't).

Latest revision as of 23:34, 6 May 2011

Sometimes it can be difficult to write about the absolute newest theories of biology because much of it sounds like poppycock; however, some of the most important postulates of our time started in this way, and the hologenome hypothesis may be another of these theories which overturn many preexisting notions of biology. Doubtlessly it is a complex idea, and I can tell that you have researched this a lot, but I feel that you are struggling a bit to explain it in this article. Mainly, the section entitled "The Hologenome Theory" is where the ideas behind this concept should be clearly defined; however, it comes off more as a summary of the coral bleaching phenomenon. Even though the inspiration for this theory may have come from observations of coral bleaching, the major emphasis of this section should be on explaining the theory. Otherwise, I like the idea and will be anxious to see how you improve.

I think your page would benefit the most from a tighter definition of the Hologenome Theory right up front. Your first sentence in the introduction sort of defines the theory, but not completely, and then you launch into an example (the Coral Probiotic hypothesis) before you introduce some key definitions (which come right after the coral example). The theory is difficult to explain, but it is hard to see why your example is important without first understanding what the theory is. Also (and I don't know if this is possible), it would help to have more examples of studies that support this hypothesis. The coral and fruit fly examples are great but this theory is probably based on more evidence than just those studies. It might also help to explain how bacteria helping an organism to become more or less fit is a new form of evolution: It seems like the bacteria could be considered a natural environmental factor (like temperature, food availability, predation) that would influence natural selection in the same ways described in Darwin's theory (i.e. that organisms with the trait (bacteria) survive, while those without it, don't).