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gemmule
[ jem-yool ]
noun
- Botany. gemma ( def 2 ).
- Zoology. an asexually produced mass of cells that is capable of developing into an animal, as a freshwater sponge.
- Evolution. one of the hypothetical living units conceived by Darwin in the theory of pangenesis as the bearers of the hereditary attributes.
gemmule
/ ˈ»åÏôÉ›³¾Âá³Ü˱ô /
noun
- zoology a cell or mass of cells produced asexually by sponges and developing into a new individual; bud
- botany a small gemma
- a small hereditary particle postulated by Darwin in his theory of pangenesis
gemmule
/ ÂáÄ•³¾â€²²â´ÇÌ…´ÇÌ…±ô /
- A small gemma or similar structure, especially a reproductive structure in some sponges that remains dormant through the winter and later develops into a new individual.
˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins
˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins
Origin of gemmule1
Example Sentences
In 1883, with rather grim determination, the German embryologist August Weismann had performed an experiment that directly attacked Darwin's gemmule theory of heredity.
The structure of the gemmules of this species differs considerably from that in any other known species of the genus, in which these structures are usually adherent and devoid of a true pneumatic coat.
The result is then, with the worst-endowed families, that the "gemmules" or latent forces of hundreds of virtuous, or at least, not vicious, generations, lie hid in their constitutions.
If the whole ovum, about 1â„150 in diameter, were all gemmules, the number would be sufficient to last, at this rate, one per second for 5,600 years!
In this case it may be conjectured that the gemmules of the lost part were gradually all attracted by the partially diseased surface, and thus perished.
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