8 ms·
Evolution certainly works much slower in a near-equilibrium scenario.
by pablovidal85 13y ago
Evolution certainly works much slower in a near-equilibrium scenario.
- kingkawn 13y agoThere is no evolutionary equilibrium. The below linked study of e.coli demonstrated that even during periods where morphology is somewhat fixed that the genomic evolution rate does not slow down. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7268/full/nature08480.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7268/full/nature0... Their generation time is shorter, but the principle is the same.
- pablovidal85 13y agoThat's why I said near-equilibrium, precisely because I read about the E. Coli experiment on http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/15/245168252/bacterial-competition-in-lab-shows-evolution-never-stops http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/15/245168252/bacteri... and I trusted the editor where it says "The pace of improvement is slowing down, but shows no sign of stopping". Perhaps I shouldn't had to say "evolution", but "improvement" instead, which is much more accurate.