Back in the day, random mutant sex was the only known pathway to evolution.
Or, maybe it was more like random mutation passed on through sex. But still...the science got the religious right hot and bothered!
Today's science is still a little bothersome. For one thing, gene mapping says that Neanderthals were not "early man." As it turns out humans and Neanderthals are not the same species although we both have more than 95% of our genes in common with chimpanzees. I don't really get how we can both be that closely related to chimps and yet not related to each other.
What does this new science mean for this new century?
Old school: when environmental pressure is extreme, the fittest survive by mutating at random. Then, when the survivors procreate, they open the one and only window of possibility for passing along their adaptation. After about a gazillion generations, if the mutation has proven its usefulness, then the survivors have "adapted" and evolution has marched forward.
Hip school: environmental pressures act on our biochemistry on a moment to moment basis, triggering the proteins in our cells to express and replicate genes. Under stress, our hormones actually cause unexpressed genes to become an active part of our make-up. And as far as we know, once our dormant genes awake, there is no turning back the clock. We pass our adaptations along to our offspring, and small, permanent changes take place in one generation.
So how about it, how should we adapt in the face of global warming, which promises flood, drought, famine, ice, snow, drought, and famine. What changes do we need to evolve into being?
Given a choice, what biological change would you make in yourself (or the species as a whole) to ensure our survival, (keeping in mind that random mutant sex will still be required to keep the species moving forward)?
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5 comments:
Were you hungry when you wrote this and is that why you mentioned "famine" twice in the second to last paragraph?
The mutation I would like to experience is more discipline and balance in my life - getting more exercise, meditation and sleep and less food and alcohol. Trust me, it will take a mutation.
No, not hungry. Just struck by the fact that all climate change pathways seem to lead to famine. Drought leads to famine. Ironically, so does flood. Definitely an ice age would. So, no matter how the weather changes, we should plan on being hungry--or hoping we mutate so that we aren't!
I think the idea that evolution occurs all the time and not from generation to generation intriguing. Does that mean that offspring that come later could carry different genes or characteristics? Does that mean that in the second generation their are even larger differences between the offspring? That is mind blowing!
I'd probably hone one of my senses so that it's super effective. Most likely vision (see in the dark!) or hearing (hear for miles!). Then again, I'm probably choosing those two because I'm fairly blind and getting increasingly grandpa-earhorn deaf every day. WHAT?
I find myself thinking about what evolutionary adaptations I want to make now regardless of the possibility of an "ice age". What does it take to make my genes evolutionary effective? Do I eat more or less - considering the whole famine scenario I might want to store quite a bit of extra fuel and be adept at retrieving it. Except, that I really want to be fit and healthy in this life, so where does that leave me? I digress, it seems to me that what I desire most is to leave this world better off because I was here. Maybe that means that random mutant sex, but I doubt it. I think it means being intentional about our choices and how they impact the people we interact with, the universe and of course my self. Beyond that I'm clueless. If I keep this as my conscious framework, I'll consider myself quite prepared for whatever climatic experience is in store for me.
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