Comments on: Science is Sexy: What is Evolution?

By: उन्मुक्त

उन्मुक्त — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:34:48 +0000

Evolution – well explained.

By: SoonerSteve

SoonerSteve — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:07:24 +0000

The problem with evolution is this, virtually every mutation that occurs on a molecular level is maladaptive. The changes that are described(not really evolution but ‘natural selection’) occur under very different circumstances.

By: Scott-O

Scott-O — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:36:06 +0000

George Mason! Who hooooooo! Best school I ever flunked out of!
Thanks for a great article that really simplifies the whole messy thing.

By: Chad

Chad — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:30:57 +0000

Great read! Thanks for posting.

By: Jimmy Rogers

Jimmy Rogers — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:41:59 +0000

A very good point Mark!

This process is actually the way in which recombinant bacterial strains are created. Microbiologists introduce a gene segment that is only taken up by a fraction of the millions of bacteria in a culture. The gene segment includes a gene for resistance to an antibiotic and the desired target gene (like creating insulin). The antibiotic is introduced to the culture and all but the small group with the recombinant DNA are destroyed. This is of course artificial selection, but the effect is the same.

By: Mark Wrede

Mark Wrede — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:22:03 +0000

It should be observed, however, that the end result of natural selection is not survival, but extinction. Better than 99% of all species that ever existed became extinct because their adaptation to their niche was in such good correspondence that they did not survive change over geological time. Perfect adaptation is not a desireable characteristic on a dynamic world.

By: Jimmy Rogers

Jimmy Rogers — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:57:06 +0000

Thanks a bunch! Good luck to both of us entering grad school!

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:48:23 +0000

Congratulations on the diploma!