New Zealand Tree Stuck In Evolutionary Time Warp

sciencehabit writes "A eucalyptus-like tree from New Zealand is still waging a battle that should have ended over 500 years ago. The tree continues to sport evolutionary adaptations, such as barbed leaves, to protect it from a large, flightless bird known as a moa. There's just one problem: the moa went extinct around 1500 AD."

Comments

Re:Maybe it's a message from up above

[CarpetShark]

I'm not sure humans are a good example of evolutionary processes any more. We evolve based on other things now, like financial success, keeping up with fashions on MTV. If you have the money, your teeth will look perfect, and you'll therefore be a better candidate for reproduction, regardless of how rotted your teeth once were.

Re:It is a common misconception about evolution

[ionix5891]

the above got modded +5 insightful

sigh

Re:Easily explainable.

[FriendlyLurker]

That tree is stuck in an endless recursion of time.

Not just the Tree is stuck - WE Humans are stuck with far worse repercussions than bunch of trees and shrubs. It was a great evolutionary advantage for us to all be greedy a few thousand years ago, where greedily stockpiling the cave with food, fur coats and "things" helped our kids get through the next harsh winter alive... but today that evolutionary baggage is going to get us all killed. More advanced human societies began to wake up to that, limiting greed with laws for the greater good - but then the primitive side of us helped hijack that greater good goal and create corporations. Legal structures obliged by law to be greedy... for the good of the shareholders, of course. Now certain corporations have firm control over our politicians...

I don't look forward to the stack overflow that is heading our collective way when the natural environment tips out of balance enough to remove that evolutionary baggage for us.

Re:Easily explainable.

[FourthAge]

I don't know if it's unimaginable, because "genetically engineering greed.. out of our genes" is exactly what Marxism is all about, and exactly what the Soviets and the Chinese actually did to tens of millions of people after their revolutions, with genocidal consequences far outstripping the better-known crimes of Hitler.