Re: rapid origin of genetic variation
Bill Hamilton (hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com)
Fri, 18 Aug 1995 13:31:11 -0500Glenn wrote
>
>Question, does not the drawings and mummies of egyptian animals at least place
>certain constraints on the molecular clock and thus, these constraints depend
>upon the historical time scale rather than the geological time-scale. And are
>the historically based contraints compatible with the geological time scale
>calibrations of the molecular clock?
>
I thought of the same response while reading Walter's post about rapid
change. But just now I thought of another possible "calibration". What
about the cave paintings found in places like France and Spain? Aren't
they upwards of 20,000 years old, and don't some of them depict animals
that are extant today? If the paintings are detailed enough, they might
help establish that no significant variations in phenotypes have occurred
over 20K years.
>
I'm also a bit puzzled about where Walter is going with his argument that
rapid genetic variation can occur if you include neutral and harmful
variations. He seemed to be depending especially on harmful variations.
But wouldn't these variations get eliminated pretty rapidly by selection?
That's why evolutionists don't worry very much about them.
Bill Hamilton | Vehicle Systems Research
GM R&D Center | Warren, MI 48090-9055
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX)