Ready, Steady, Evolve

Stront writes "New Scientist is reporting that plants and animals can 'bottle up' evolution until they need it. A certain protein 'hides away' mutated genes acting like a genetic valet, however in extreme environments, such as high temperature or noxious chemicals, the cleaning process breaks down and the mutations are released all at once. This goes some way to explaining examples that are considered to defy standard evolutionary theory, such as the Bombardier Beetle."

Comments

Re:"thinking"

[aug24]

It's a crappy argument anyway. The substances are unstable, not explosive (see later in the article), and the evolution order could easily be:

• Develop nasty chemical as poison
  and
  Develop inhibitor in other tissues so as not to poison self
  
• Develop squirty technique for nasty chemical
  
• Develop another nasty chemical as poison.
  
• Add second nasty chemical at squirt time which makes it nastier
  
• Develop anti-inhibitor as some of the inhibitor will leak into the nasty chemicals
  

Did I miss anything? Oh yeah, anyone who thinks postulating God is a smaller step than postulating evolution is fooling themselves big time.

My copy of NS is back at home, so I can't comment on the new stuff, just the old rubbish about 'The bombadier beetle couldn't have evolved' <sigh>

Justin.