In the fourth episode of the Causes of Evolution series, we’re tackling mutation, perhaps the most misunderstood of all the mechanisms of evolution. We’ll discuss it from the context of classic population genetics, but also in its historical role in the Modern Synthesis. In addition, we’ll talk about the molecular biology of mutations as well as provide multiple examples of mutations generating novel genes.
#evolution #education
source
Wow, I have to watch this again!
So a new species has been created?
It’s like lately you and Dr Joel Duff have been syncing up as his latest video also concludes without mutation evolution stops. 👍
I was a big fan of Dr. Susanne Blackmoore's explanation. It's the inevitable byproduct of a population that reproduces with variation under selective pressure.
Learning about this leading and lagging strand replication really sounds like something that was put together with available parts.
Why not another polymerase that can do 3-prime to 5-prime? That would be more efficient than doing this piecemeal 5- to 3- on the lagging strand, wouldn't it?
RNA seems to be 5- to 3- as well, and wouldn't have this problem as it is a single strand. To me this seems like some evidence towards the system developing with RNA and then being adapted into DNA.
It's generally accepted that life began from algae. If algae is such a bubbling caldron of evolution, has anyone documented a new species emerging? Considering the long odds evolution assigns to the process of new species creation, shouldn't we be seeing lots of new ones being created almost constantly? At each level of advancement, there should be thousands of "misses" before there's a "hit" of a valuable trait. Are we seeing this happen in animals we're familiar with, like dogs and cats? My point is, we see lots of intraspecies development (new breeds, different fur etc, similar to Darwin's birds) but we don't find a completely new species. The counter argument is… time. But again, shouldn't we be finding new species with better survivability traits? And what the devil happened to whales? Here's mammal leaves land to live in the water and somehow develops a hole in the back of it's head and fins, and does so quickly enough before all the "evolving whales who are still lousy swimmers) get eaten by other sea creatures.
These are old arguments, but I've never heard a satisfactory explanation, especially for whale evolution. Your thoughts?
Great video. BTW, adaptive mutagenesis = Lamarckism. Also, is GC-biased gene conversion a mutational mechanism? It does not involve the creation of variation, but rather it affects how variants spread. I've always thought of it as acting at the same level as selection.
Do you or anyone know every iteration of DNA folding? Also, why do people who claim to understand how complex interactions work within DNA not understand math? A mutation is a statistical impossibility. PERIOD! 9 billion characters that are exactly sequenced and you think breaking a sequence will work? Does that idea work anywhere else? NO.