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Post by principled on Oct 13, 2011 13:29:17 GMT 1
I have a little trouble with some aspects of evolution. I can see, for instance, how the Galapagos tortoise has a longer neck than other species. given the living conditions this seems a normal eveolutionary trend (ie those with shorter necks don't get to the higher food and die). I can see how an animal might start with five fingers and end up with three (ie start from something and end up with less/more). But there are times when I think "How did this start off"? One such case is that of the sea slug Elysia chlorotica. See: blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/01/13/crazy-chlorophyll-using-sea-slug-is-part-animal-part-plant/Here we have an animal whose cells "decided" to take up a plant gene so that it can process chlorophyll. Now one could say that this was an accident of evolution, but it seems to me that sometimes evolutionary accidents are hard to swallow. Comments anyone? P
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Post by abacus9900 on Oct 13, 2011 14:01:46 GMT 1
Principled, I don't claim to be an expert on evolution but from what I do know every so often genetic mutations can occur within cells that may or may not imbue the organism with some kind of survival advantage. Such mutations, of course, are passed on to offspring. I believe there are other mechanisms at work as well but that is beyond the scope of my knowledge.
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Post by eamonnshute on Oct 13, 2011 16:16:14 GMT 1
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Post by StuartG on Oct 14, 2011 0:16:49 GMT 1
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Post by Progenitor A on Oct 14, 2011 7:55:52 GMT 1
Unlike Abacus I am an expert on evolution and can state quite definitively........what was the question again?
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