[__ Science __ ] The History of Using Radiation to Speed Up Evolution

[AIG.com]

The history of the mutation theory as the foundation of the source of new genetic information is reviewed.

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[Barbarian]

Using Radiation to Speed Up Evolution

Bad idea. Evolution requires mutations to work. But more mutations won't make it work faster. It's like oil in your car; it won't run without oil, but adding oil won't make it go faster.

The rate of mutation is most affected by the environment. A population newly-introduced to a different environment, typically evolves rapidly as natural selection removes those individuals least fit for the environment. Mutations that improve fitness tend to be retained, and old alleles not very well fitted, tend to disappear. After a while, the population becomes more fit to the environment, and natural selection tends to keep it the same, slowing evolution down and eventually stasis ensues unless the environment should change. That's what Darwin wrote and observation has confirmed it.

An example is a population of lizards moved to a new island in the Adriatic Sea. Over about 20 years, they evolved a new digestive organ, larger jaws, and different behaviors, associated with a change in the food available. A time will come when fewer and fewer mutations will be of any additional benefit, and then change will slow down.

Lizards Undergo Rapid Evolution After Introduction To A New Home​

Date: April 18, 2008 ​

Source: University Of Massachusetts, Amherst ​

Summary: ​

In 1971, biologists moved five adult pairs of Italian wall lizards from their home island of Pod Kopiste, in the South Adriatic Sea, to the neighboring island of Pod Mrcaru. Now researchers have shown that introducing these small, green-backed lizards, Podarcis sicula, to a new environment caused them to undergo rapid and large-scale evolutionary changes. ​

Lizards Undergo Rapid Evolution After Introduction To A New Home

In 1971, biologists moved five adult pairs of Italian wall lizards from their home island of Pod Kopiste, in the South Adriatic Sea, to the neighboring island of Pod Mrcaru. Now researchers have shown that introducing these small, green-backed lizards, Podarcis sicula, to a new environment...

www.sciencedaily.com

​

Falsifying the conclusion that mutations produce new genetic variety falsifies the core of evolution theory

That's wrong, too. Mutations produce genetic variety. Measurably so. Take a population with 4 different alleles for a particular gene. Then suppose a non-lethal mutation occurs. (almost all mutations are non-lethal) Then there are 5 different alleles, and the population has 20% more variety than it had before.

And so AIG's assumption is falsified.