Jan 29 2009
∞
Natural Selection Not The Only Process That Drives Evolution?
Research by researchers at Uppsala University suggests that a separate nonadaptive process has made a significant contribution to human evolution.
The researchers identified fast evolving human genes, which were a result of a process know as biased gene conversion (BSG). This process increases the rate at which certain mutations spread through a population, regardless of whether they are beneficial or harmful.
This leads to the hypothesis that many of the genetic changes leading to human-specific characters may be the result of the fixation of harmful mutations - this contrasts with the Darwinistic view of natural selection in favour of adaptive mutations.
