From Julien:
> Because I'm not a biologist, can somebody explane how biological
> transformation occurs by intermediate phases in order to become the new
> whole?
Single "master" genes can control sets of other genes. In these way, evolution
can explore "quietly" (i.e. without phenotypic variation) alternative
routes while mutating the repressed genes. But then, if the master gene
mutates, all the others it
was repressing become expressed, so you can get really novel
phenotypical changes with single mutations. I wouldn't say that you
get new species this way, but e.g. with single mutations to HOX genes
you can get an extra pair of legs or wings...
From Jan:
> Can anyone put me straight on 'accelerations' or 'stagnations' in evolution?
I believe that indeed evolution can change its "speed", but I am not
aware of the models to describe this process...
Best regards,
Carlos Gershenson...
Centrum Leo Apostel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Krijgskundestraat 33. B-1160 Brussels, Belgium
http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/
"We can control much better how we accept things
than things themselves"
