Evolutionists?

Question

Ok....so as the incredible mutations happened....

did they have to happen equally to a male and female of the mutating species?

Or did the mutant have sex with a normal non mutant, producing anther stage of mutation?

Do you know the odds of this? Roughly? I'd like a link or a hard number...not just "small"

thanks

Answer 1

Good question

I've studied and train statistical probability.
The odds that anything could have evolved from anything else is out of the realm of possibility and so are the odds that any fossil ( no matter how well preserved ), Could stay in tact hundreds of millions of years let alone one million years.

Answer 2

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, but I'm thinking you're question how small changes can lead to large changes? And why mutations don't get masked out?

Well for starters, it's actually arguably better to think in terms of individual genes rather than individuals (hence, Dawkin's selfish gene, not selfish species or whatnot). Let's say a gene provides an increase in fitness by 0.1%. Tiny. But very plausible. Here's the beauty of modern evolutionary models; since it provides a relatively higher fitness than the correlative "competing" gene, despite starting at a low frequency, let's say 1% of the population, it continually increases. +0.1% fitness translate to 1.01% of the next generation. Each generation results in the frequency of this "mutant" gene occurring more and more often. Theoretically, you'll eventually you'll hit 99.99% or some other equilibrium.

As for the average mutation rate, a 2000 estimate had it at roughly 175 base pair mutations per diploid genome per generation (see reference).

There's probably a slightly higher mutation rate on females because the X chromosome is way bigger than the Y chromosome. In any case, the vast majority of genes are on the autosomal chromosomes, so this is a small (but significant) effect.

Hope that answers your question and helps you understand current evolutionary models better.

Answer 3

The odds that a mutatation in an organism will be carried by its surviving offspring are exactly 1 in 1 if reproduction is asexual. In sexually reproducing organisms the chances are 1 in 2 for each offspring.

A mutation does not have to occur independently in both a male and a female individual for it to be present in both male and female offspring. It only needs to occur once. If it enhances reproductive fitness its prevalence will likely increase over subsequent generations (this is called natural selection), and unless it is on a Y chromosome will be distributed in both male and female descendents.

Mutations and other genetic variations are not diluted or otherwise further mutated by crossing with "non-mutants". While an allele's expression may vary from generation to generation according to what other alleles are present, each allele itself is preserved intact down the line, unless it mutates. That was the whole point of Mendel's experiments crossing sweet peas, and is the foundational fact of modern genetics. Nothing else in genetics (or most of biology) will make sense if you don't grasp this.

Answer 4

A mutation of either a male or a female gene can produce an altered offspring, and that is in fact the reason that sex exists: it assures that any mutation is rapidly and widely disseminated. Except for identical twins, no two human beings have ever had exactly the same genetic makeup, and it is precisely this fact that drives evolution: change is guaranteed, so natural selection can sort out the stronger offspring to survive and the weaker ones to die off. Evolution is a proven fact; proof details are available on request. (Please provide an e-mail address.)

Answer 5

The common squirrel live in the woods near a prairie. A portion of the population disperse towards the prairie, the squirrels with the shortest tails will survive because they don't need a counterbalance and the squirrels with the best burrowing claws will survive. After many many sucessive generations the ground squirrel species is created. TA DAH!

The odds are favourable because it that weren't the case we wouldn't have millions of diverse species today. =P

You think that some animal will have a huge beneficial mutation and there will be a brand new species of offspring in one generation, well, sorry to your burst your bubble. That doesn't happen. It's gradualistic.

Answer 6

* There is no such thing as "evolutionists". Do you "believe in" gravity? Are you a gravitationist?
* Evolution is every much a fact as the theory of gravity.
* Over 99.8% of scientists in relevant field accept evolution.
* There are no alternative scientific theories.
* There is a huge amount of evidence in support of evolution...
* And zero evidence against it.
* The 'discussion' is actually educated people trying to educate others.
* The more intelligent a person is, the more likely they are to understand and accept evolution.
* The "discussion" only happens in backward places like Turkey and parts of the united states.

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Posting a science question in the religion and spirituality section often means the asker does not really want an answer. His goal is to ask a question that he believes proves some scientific knowledge to be wrong, or that science does not yet answer, and make the implicit claim that the only other explanation is a god, and specifically, the same god he happens to believe in.

It's the "god of the gaps" - intellectually bankrupt, since it favors ignorance instead of knowledge, and because of the contained logical fallacy.

However, on the off chance that you really want to know the answer:

1. This objection falsely assumes that speciation must happen suddenly when one individual gives rise to an individual of another species. In fact, populations, not individuals, evolve, and most speciation occurs gradually. In one common mode of speciation ("allopatric" speciation), two populations of the same species are split apart geographically. Small changes accumulate in both populations, causing them to be more and more different from each other. Eventually, the differences are great enough that the two populations cannot interbreed when they do get together (Otte and Endler 1989).

It is also possible for speciation to occur without the geographical separation (sympatric speciation; see Diekmann and Doebeli 1999; Kondrashov and Kondrashov 1999; Otte and Endler 1989), but the process is still gradual.

2. Sometimes new species can form suddenly, but this occurs with species that are asexual or hermaphroditic and do not need to find mates.

References:

1. Dieckmann, Ulf and Michael Doebeli. 1999. On the origin of species by sympatric speciation. Nature 400: 354-357.
2. Kondrashov, Alexey S. and Fyodor A. Kondrashov. 1999. Interactions among quantitative traits in the course of sympatric speciation. Nature 400: 351-354.
3. Otte, D. and J. A. Endler, eds. 1989. Speciation and Its Consequences. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Assoc.

Further Reading:
Schilthuizen, Menno. 2001. Frogs, Flies, and Dandelions: the making of species, Oxford Univ. Press.

Answer 7

Yes it probably did......if you take two people with down syndrome(a genetic mutation) odds are very very high that the child born to them would also have down syndrome.....Genes are passed to children from their parents. As for equal amounts.......no look at men and women, men are also the result of a genetic mutation and we have less of them in the world yet there are still plenty of them running around.

Answer 8

The mutant would probably be a freak but its genetic material wouldaffect future generations.
The bird flu virus has just mutated into a new form that is more harmful to humans.

Answer 9

The odds? They are not just small. They're tiny. Very very tiny, miniscule odds. That's why it took 4 billion years. Most mutations by far are not favorable.

No, the mutations do not have to be in both the male and female (presuming that sort of reproductive system) for the mutation to survive. Just as with humans now, mutations (birth defects essentially) can be carried by just one of the parents and be passed on to future generations. Sometimes the offspring even appears completely normal, but is still a carrier.

Answer 10

We see genetic mutations all the time, Look at Down Syndrome! They aren't incredible mutations, they are slow gradual mutations. This question itself has so many problems with it, it's pointless to even begin trying to answer it.

Answer 11

The fact is there is no case in point to show that any mutation is better then the original. In fact most mutations are not capable of reproducing. REMEMBER, Evolution is just a theory. There is no hard core proof to make it a fact. As hard as they try there is no solid evidence proving evolution.