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Re:New finding: 600M years ago, a single mutation changed ev... by pvg on Monday January 11, 2016 @06:43PM (#10884531)
The usual counterargument says that just one mutation is usually enough to create a functional prototype of a complex feature/organ (MVP, if you please). A series of mutations is not required.

That doesn't sound right at all. Look at the some of discussion of the 'Irreducible Complexity' examples. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreducible_complexity#Stated_...

Re:New finding: 600M years ago, a single mutation changed ev... by teraflop on Monday January 11, 2016 @06:46PM (#10884543)
You're going to have to be more specific about what doesn't "sound right", because I don't see anything in that article that contradicts what you quoted.
Re:New finding: 600M years ago, a single mutation changed ev... by TeMPOraL on Monday January 11, 2016 @06:58PM (#10884604)
One mutation being enough to create "a functional prototype of a complex feature/organ (MVP, if you please)"? That's not how reality works!

You can't introduce a complex organ out of the blue by flipping a single gene anymore than you can add HTTPS handling to your webapp by changing a single opcode in your binary. For that to work, the structural and operational information must have already been there in the organism.

Re:New finding: 600M years ago, a single mutation changed ev... by ionforce on Tuesday January 12, 2016 @12:13AM (#10885679)
I think that's exactly it. The groundwork for "complex" features must already be there in some sense, maybe through mutations or hitchhiking. The last mutation is probably like flipping the on-off boolean. Or maybe something dramatic like a keystone. I.e. the parts alone don't do anything, but you have this magical bit flipped that suddenly turns everything on and gives them significance.

But yeah one bit/mutation does not a feature make. Not without some prior stuff to latch on to, in my opinion.

Re:New finding: 600M years ago, a single mutation changed ev... by pvg on Monday January 11, 2016 @06:54PM (#10884581)
An injection system is not an 'MVP' of a flagellum, an organ for propulsion. What doesn't sound right is the idea that single mutations often produce essentially working versions of future complex features.