Practice question

Lamarck proposed transformism emphasizing use and disuse and inheritance of acquired characters as mechanism for adaptation, such as giraffe stretching neck. Though germplasm theory and Weismann's mouse tail experiments refuted inheritance of acquired traits, Lamarck was first to propose formal evolutionary theory. Neo-Lamarckism later attempted revival. Understanding his ideas clarifies historical development from goal-directed evolution to natural selection. Therefore Goal directed relates directly to Lamarckian principles and their eventual rejection. This concept integrates genetics, ecology and molecular evidence, frequently tested in NEET, GATE and CSIR-NET, highlighting links between genotype, phenotype and environment.