[News] Natural Selection Not The Only Process That Drives Evolution?

[Moontanman]

Natural Selection Not The Only Process That Drives Evolution?

ScienceDaily (Jan. 28, 2009) — Why have some of our genes evolved rapidly? It is widely believed that Darwinian natural selection is responsible, but research led by a group at Uppsala University, suggests that a separate neutral (nonadaptive) process has made a significant contribution to human evolution.

 

Natural Selection Not The Only Process That Drives Evolution?

[Pyrotex]

This premise seems to derive entirely from a conclusion that some of the differences between human genome and ape genomes cannot be identified with natural selection processes.

 

This might IMHO be explained by an inadequate understanding of ALL the natural selection processes.

[freeztar]

The title seems silly to me.

 

Of course there are other factors at work in evolution. It just happens to be that NS is the overruling granddaddy of them all.

[Pyrotex]

For example, let's suppose we find an animal fossil that has TWO tails. Like a large rodent with two tails. We could ask ourselves, why would NS select for two tails? What advantage would there be over one tail? We examine the critter's environment and geological milleau, surmise the ecosystems surrounding it and the climate, and yet we cannot see why in hell the critter has two tails.

 

So, we publish an article that says, there may be something else that drives evolution. Because obviously, NS wouldn't give the critter two tails. How the hell would that provide selective advantage???? :confused:

 

However, what we may never know (not having any fossil evidence) is that the critter settled in a valley, the only home of the dreaded, night-stalking assplunger flying spider. Any mammal in that valley that dared go to sleep at night without tightly protecting its anal sphincter would wake up in the morning with burrowing intestinal spider larvae! Ewwwwwwwww!

 

Our little critter luckily had a random mutation for two tails and Natural Selection used that to evolve an inter-locking rear protection system.