> But how long does it all take? 

Hi all
To this question, there is no easy answer. The evolution of organisms does not follow a set path, there is no law of evolution, like gravity. Imagine genomics is like of a language. How long does it take for a language to evolve? Some parts are very resistant to change, some parts change easily and quickly. 

Some words stay the same but their meanings change, like the words plastic, or gay. These words had very different meanings 200 years ago, even 100 years ago. New ideas are born but described with old words; old ideas are repurposed but clothed in new words. Populations of speakers develop new local dialects; other populations retain old forms of the language. I could go on. 

Something like the brain and spine system of vertebrate animals came into being 500 millions years ago, and is found in everything from bottom feeding fish to soaring condors. Some species are versatile and don't need to evolve adaptations. Some are resistant to change and die out when their pond dries up. 

Adaptation is not inevitable -- most of the world's species didn't adapt and went extinct. Some mutate very quickly like viruses, bacteria. Some swap DNA and acquire traits that way. Throw human directed breeding and selection into the mix and you have a very complicated problem to solve, one with multiple solutions.

Peter L Borst

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