The rebirth of the morphogenetic field as an explanatory tool in biology

I discuss two uses of the concept of the morphogenetic field, a tool\udof the 19th century biology motivated by particular ontological views of the\udtime, which has been re-emerging and increasingly relevant in explaining\udmicrobiological phenomena. I also consider the relation of these uses to the\udCentral Dogma of modern biology as well as Modern Synthesis of Darwinism\udand genetics. An induced morphogenetic field is determined by a physical\ud(e.g., gravitational) field, or it acquires a physical (e.g., visco-elastic) field’s\udcharacteristics. Such a morphogenetic field presents only a weak challenge\udto the Central Dogma of Modern Synthesis by indirectly, albeit severely, constraining\udvariability at the molecular level. I discuss explanations that introduce\udstructural inheritance in ciliate protozoa, as well as the experimental\udevidence on which these arguments are based. The global cellular morphogenetic\udfield is a unit of such inheritance. I discuss relevant cases of structural\udinheritance in ciliates that bring about internal cellular as well as functional\udchanges and point out that DNA is absent in the cortex and that RNA controls\udneither intermediary nor the global level of the field. I go on to argue\udthat utilizing knowledge of known physical fields may advance explanations\udand understanding of the morphogenetic field in ciliates as the unit of both\uddevelopment and inheritance