X-Message-Number: 12817
From: "Phil Rhoades" <>
Subject: Evolutionary advantage in old mice?
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 23:28:23 -0000

Hi all,

>    >>He can not find any down side to the mice at all but he speculates
there must
>    >>be one someplace because otherwise evolution would already have found
this fix;
>
>Rand Simberg <> in #12806 Wrote:
>
>    >I would conclude from this statement that he doesn't understand
evolution.
>    >From the standpoint of evolution, there is nothing broken to "fix."
There
>    >is no obvious benefit to the mouse genotype from in having the
phenotypes
>    >live longer than they already do,
>
>That's not what I would conclude. I would conclude that long life for mice
would
>be an evolutionary advantage and the advantage is obvious, it just isn't
very big;
>it would not be worth even a small reduction in the fertility rates of
young mice.
>At least it wouldn't be worth it from evolution's point of view, the mice
may have
>another opinion on the subject.


Rand is right - there is no advantage - all that matters is getting as many
copies of the genes as possible into the next generation - what do you mean
the advantage is obvious?

R&LL,

Phil.

Philip Rhoades

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