Evolution is the product of mutation and selection. So genetics meets circumstance and the future is shaped by the adaptability, one to the other. This sounds passive and accidental; some think it is neither.
An interesting idea has emerged about factors influencing change. Are we, as humans, simply stalled out? Our control of the environment protects us from a lot of change. How will change occur--or be rewarded?
It turns out that mutation is not democratic; mutation occurs at a high degree in specific places of the genome. Not everything is in flux but some areas always are. One area of high mutation is the genetic site of immunology; the genome is always offering alternative immunological responses--just to see if there is a new threat a change might meet--like a chemist creating new combinations of antidotes to poisons not yet made. That makes sense as immunologic threats require a shifting immunologic response.
The same high mutation rate occurs among the genes for mating selection. There is a constant shift in how the mating system is programed, always offering new options.
So not only does mutation provide the coincidental advantage, mutation is actively occurring to provide an advantageous option.
An interesting idea has emerged about factors influencing change. Are we, as humans, simply stalled out? Our control of the environment protects us from a lot of change. How will change occur--or be rewarded?
It turns out that mutation is not democratic; mutation occurs at a high degree in specific places of the genome. Not everything is in flux but some areas always are. One area of high mutation is the genetic site of immunology; the genome is always offering alternative immunological responses--just to see if there is a new threat a change might meet--like a chemist creating new combinations of antidotes to poisons not yet made. That makes sense as immunologic threats require a shifting immunologic response.
The same high mutation rate occurs among the genes for mating selection. There is a constant shift in how the mating system is programed, always offering new options.
So not only does mutation provide the coincidental advantage, mutation is actively occurring to provide an advantageous option.
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