Darwin, Gödel, Luria, Delbrück: Biomedical, Mathematical, and Metamathematical Perspectives on Attributes and Consequences of Random Somatic Mutations Subject to Selection

Abstract

This perspective explores the ways in which random somatic mutation and selection can influence phenotypes that are biologically or clinically consequential. We also discuss the ways in which genetic research from recent decades has provided impetus to think about how _de novo_ mutations in parental germ cells and somatic mutations in progeny might affect progeny phenotypes and heritability. The phenomenon of extended phenotype is characterized and discussed in terms of the impact it has on influencing phenotypes in ways that might affect heritability. We therefore propose revising the broad heritability equation to reflect these experimental advances and better convey the full range of factors that can exert influence over organismal phenotypes. Finally, we consider how an analogy between changes in axiom systems and mutational changes in genomes prompts consideration of a broader comparison between formal deductive systems and the structured genetic systems of cells and organisms.