regulation of gene expression, that is the switching on and off of genes, is not a property of the genes themselves, but is controlled by environmental signals (Nijhout, 1990). We are also now aware of the fact that organisms under stress are able to actively alter their DNA and create new genes in an effort to accommodate environmental challenges (Thaler, 1994). Rather than being genetically predetermined, organisms develop in balance with their environment and purposively select, or if necessary rewrite, what they perceive to be appropriate gene programs to ensure their survival. An article in Science entitled "A New Look at Maternal Guidance" (Pennisi, 1996) reveals that parents pass more than genes on to their offspring. The report acknowledges that the parent's provide non-genetic contributions that dramatically influence the development of the offspring and have profound ecological and evolutionary implications. Studies cited reveal
Some of these individuals then proceed to commit the act in a straightforward, no- bones-about-it fashion, causing the suicide rate to jump. Others, however, are less direct. For any of several reasons-to protect their reputations, to spare their families the shame and hurt, to allow their dependents to collect on insurance policies-they do not want to appear to have killed them- selves. They would rather seem to have died accidentally. So, purposively but furtively, they cause the wreck of a car or a plane they are operating or are simply riding in. This can be accomplished in a variety of all-too-familiar-sounding ways. A commercial airline pilot can dip the nose of the aircraft at a crucial point of take- off or can inexplicably land on an already occupied runway against the instructions from the control tower; the driver of a car can suddenly swerve into a tree or into
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