Make a decision

Post by **Vince** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:16 am

TheCatt wrote:
Vince wrote:The Bat Autobot gene.

You won't scoff at me when I'm a firetruck that runs over your ass.
So... that shows that our understanding of evolution is growing, and we're learning more about it all the time.

That was kind of my point from the beginning.

We are just getting past the fundamentals. We know a lot less than we don't know.

Post by **GORDON** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 5:55 pm

"Religious ceremony forces fish to evolve or die."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id....science

So... these fish... one day they are stunned by this anesthesia, and then all of a sudden their autobot gene gets flipped and they are immune?

Post by **TPRJones** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:38 pm

Not exactly. It would be more accurate to say that switches are randomly flipped all the time in little increments, and some switches help them with tolerance to the stuff. Those with more tolerance live longer and thus have more kids.

The process they're doing is much like was done to dogs and most cultivated crops. They're just doing it on accident and selecting for one specific trait.

Edited By TPRJones on 1284421132

Post by **TheCatt** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:48 pm

GORDON wrote:"Religious ceremony forces fish to evolve or die."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id....science

So... these fish... one day they are stunned by this anesthesia, and then all of a sudden their autobot gene gets flipped and they are immune?

That isn't evolution, it's selective breeding. But I'm guessing that was your point.

Edited By TheCatt on 1284421833

Post by **TPRJones** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:06 pm

That's still evolution. Just artificial evolution where "fittest" is defined by the people doing the breeding instead of natural forces.

Post by **GORDON** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:05 pm

I was being sort of facetious with the above post. Vince mentioned "the autobot gene" in a facetious way, so I was sort of parroting that.

Evolution is the change in the traits of a population over time.

Individuals do not evolve.

And selective breeding is indeed a force of change in a population.

I enjoy stumbling upon these random instances of evolution where it can be directly observed and measured. You hear about them from time to time.

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