An inventive mechanism (Evolution)

by dhw, Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 15:37 (3711 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Here is a study on tilapia sub-species that is an attempt to explain variations:-http://phys.org/news/2014-09-cichlid-fish-genome-story-evolution.html-Involving gene duplications and microRNA activities.-Thank you as always for these fascinating articles.
 
QUOTE: “Analysis of the genomes revealed a remarkably high rate of gene duplication across all species. Gene duplication occurs when cellular hardware creates two copies of a gene. These events are an essential source of genetic novelty leading to evolutionary innovation. One copy, freed from selection, could adapt to a new function, or be turned off or even serve as a "spare" if the original gene is damaged. Alternatively, the original function can be divided, giving different roles to each copy of the gene. -Although clearly the cichlid is still a cichlid, and we are talking more of adaptation than innovation here, it's worth noting that evolutionary innovation is already being spoken of as a result of this process.-Here is another quote: “Fernald said that scientists recognize that it might not be a single gene making this type of decision, but rather a constellation of genes - or microRNAs or other factors - that, when expressed together, can control a behaviour.”-This is the sort of cooperative decision-making that must also be involved in innovation. Even if we restrict ourselves to the behaviour of these fish, there can be little doubt that it argues intelligence, and so once more you are faced with your dilemma. Did your God preprogramme this behaviour 3.7 billion years ago? Did he dabble with the lakes and/or with fishy automatons? Or is there a mechanism within the genome of these organisms which takes its own autonomous decisions in accordance with the needs and opportunities presented by the environment?