At 9:58 +1000 9/5/1999, Bernard Lischer wrote:

>Richard Archer wrote:
>
>>Imagine a population of 100,000 in which a mutation occurs.
>
>This sentance threw me off

Yes, I meant "imagine a population of 100,000 in which a mutation occurs in
one member of the population".


>So my apologies, please ignore my last posting.

Your last posting succinctly summarises the way a mutation progresses
through a population.

The figures I gave back up your description, but I chose to ignore the
complications of selective mating.

I thought that in the case of the human diet, people are hardly likely to
use the ability to digest grain or milk as a significant factor in deciding
whether or not to choose that person. On deeper thought, perhaps this would
be a factor, as the side effects of gluten/lactose intolerance are not
particularly pleasant.

Also, my figures describe the progression of a single mutation through a
population. The process of adaptation to a new diet involves many
mutations, with each one providing a slight advantage, rather than one
mutation providing a significant advantage.

 ...Richard.