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Date: | Sun, 9 May 1999 11:02:58 +1000 |
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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.
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