Celebrating 280 birth years of Lamarck: revisiting his legacy in the concept of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2025 Feb 14:16:e8. doi: 10.1017/S2040174425000030.

Abstract

In 2024, we are celebrating the 280th anniversary of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, whose early theories on inheritance and environmental adaptation have advanced the foundational concepts of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). This proposal aims to explore how some Lamarckian ideas align with contemporary understandings of how environmental factors in early life can affect health throughout an individual's lifetime and across generations. This text not only honors an important historical milestone but also reflects on how a DOHaD notion might have been present since the earliest years of biological science. It bridges historical scientific thought with present-day scientific research.

Keywords: Developmental Origins of Health and Disease concept; Developmental programing; Inheritance of acquired characteristics; Lamarck.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Anniversaries and Special Events
  • Developmental Origins of Health and Disease*
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, 21st Century
  • Humans
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects