mfaber

1. A RARE PROTEIN MUTATION OFFERS NEW HOPE FOR HEART DISEASE

<a href="http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/LSD-Milano-Bielicki.html" target="_blank">http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/LSD-Milano-Bielicki.html</a>
---"Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered the mechanism by which an extremely rare protein mutation shields people from cardiovascular disease. The discovery could lead to more potent drug therapies that both target cholesterol deposition and prevent future accumulation."

2. MUTATION IN THE ESTROGEN RECEPTOR dramatically increases good cholesterol for women on HRT (hormone replacement therapy)

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1897164.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1897164.stm</a>
---"women who took HRT who had a common mutation in the oestrogen receptor alpha gene had dramatic increases in good cholesterol."

3. MORE EXAMPLES OF BENEFICIAL MUTATIONS IN HUMANS
<a href="http://www.gate.net/~rwms/EvoHumBenMutations.html" target="_blank">http://www.gate.net/~rwms/EvoHumBenMutations.html</a>

4. HUMAN AND FLY STUDIES TALLY GOOD AND BAD MUTATIONS, STRESS ONGOING ROLE OF NATURAL SECLECTION (the mechanics of the selection)

<a href="http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2002/20020227-evolve.html" target="_blank">http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2002/20020227-evolve.html</a>
----"They found that competitive pressures were shaping about one out of four genes. Thirty-four of the 45 genes, or about 75 percent, showed no sign of natural selection. But, 11 genes, or about 25 percent showed evidence of ongoing rapid evolution. These genes contribute disproportionately to the total number of changes, says Wu. Most of these genes, note the authors, are involved in processes such as disease resistance or sexual reproduction, areas where there is "continually room for improvement"

NOTE: Same AUTHOR'S research
-----a) What is the genetic basis of evolutionary change? What forces cause different species to evolve? (Easier to digest magazine article)
<a href="http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0206/research/invest-zone.html" target="_blank">http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0206/research/invest-zone.html</a>
-----b)Postive and Negative Selection in the Human Genome (technical mathematical model)
<a href="http://intl.genetics.org/cgi/reprint/158/3/1227.pdf" target="_blank">http://intl.genetics.org/cgi/reprint/158/3/1227.pdf</a>

[ October 27, 2002: Message edited by: mfaber ]</p>

Camaban

another part of defining a good mutation as opposed to a bad one is difficult because, well... one mans junk is another mans treasure.

IE, Taking sickle cell aenemia as an example. in non-malaria infested places, it's entirely bad. in malaria infested places, it could be classed as a pretty neat thing to have.

You can't really just take a mutation and say "that's entirely good" or "that's entirely bad"

At least, this is the way I see it.

Baidarka

Vanderzyden:
You ask for examples of "good mutations".
Example 1- In 1987 Baby Jessica fell down a well. A fireman named Robert O'Donell managed to wriggle into an impossibly tight space and pull her out. The reason that he was able to accomplish this feat was because he had been born without a collar bone!
Example 2- When antibiotics first came into use they seemed to be 100% effective. This is no longer true. "Good" mutations have produced "Super Bacterium" that are immune to antibiotics.
Example 3- During WWII the Air Force used color blind men as bombardiers because they were not confused by the enemie's camouflage.
"Good mutations" are good when particular environmental situations arise that make them good. These same mutations could be bad in different situations.
Baidarka

Jeremy Pallant

Would John Vanderzyden actually responding to this thread constitute a good or bad mutation of his normal behavior?

Quetzal

Who cares whether Vander responds? These are great examples. Thanks everyone.

Camaban

and from the looks of it, he's gone.

drive by postings galore here.

Jack the Bodiless

Vanderzyden:

Try entering "Ames Test" into any search engine.

Copious references will fall out.

Jack the Bodiless

...also, <a href="http://www.nmsr.org/nylon.htm" target="_blank">The Nylon Bug.</a>

"Challenge": an odd phrase to use in this context. They're not exactly difficult to find.

Did you expect otherwise? If so, then why?

picklepuss

Here is another example of a beneficial mtutation, using the same reasoning as the other's.

A car and its driver are speeding down the road, when an internal accident occurs. It could be a flat tire, a broken belt, lack of fuel, a clogged line, you name it. They are all unintentional changes to its dynamic system that cause it to breakdown or behave abnormally (for a car). So the driver goes to the side of the road and stops. Very beneficial in this anomalous instance, since less than a mile down the road there is a massive pile-up, wherin both he and his car would have most certainly met with a fiery end. Saved by a beneficial mutation.

Xixax

No, more like the car develops a 6' ground clearance and drives over the wreck with no problem.