Sunday, July 20, 2014

evolutionary forecasting


Simonfoundation |   Michael Doebeli, a mathematical biologist at the University of British Columbia, wondered how E. coli would evolve if it had two kinds of food instead of just one. In the mid-2000s, he ran an experiment in which he provided glucose — the sole staple of Lenski’s experiment — and another compound E. coli can grow on, known as acetate.
Doebeli chose the two compounds because he knew that E. coli treats them very differently. When given a choice between the two, it will devour all the glucose before switching on the molecular machinery for feeding on acetate. That’s because glucose is a better source of energy. Feeding on acetate, by contrast, E. coli can only grow slowly.

Something remarkable happened in Doebeli’s experiment — and it happened over and over again. The bacteria split into two kinds, each specialized for a different way of feeding. One population became better adapted to growing on glucose. These glucose-specialists fed on the sugar until it ran out and then slowly switched over to feeding on acetate. The other population became acetate-specialists; they evolved to switch over to feeding on acetate even before the glucose supply ran out and could grow fairly quickly on acetate.

When two different kinds of organisms are competing for the same food, it’s common for one to outcompete the other. But in Doebeli’s experiment, the two kinds of bacteria developed a stable coexistence. That’s because both strategies, while good, are not perfect. The glucose-specialists start out growing quickly, but once the glucose runs out, they slow down drastically. The acetate-specialists, on the other hand, don’t get as much benefit from the glucose. But they’re able to grow faster than their rivals once the glucose runs out.

Doebeli’s bacteria echoed the evolution of lizards in the Caribbean. Each time the lizards arrived on an island, they diversified into many of the same forms, each with its own set of adaptations. Doebeli’s bacteria diversified as well — and did so in flask after flask.

To get a deeper understanding of this predictable evolution, Doebeli and his postdoctoral researcher, Matthew Herron, sequenced the genomes of some of the bacteria from these experiments. In three separate populations they discovered that the bacteria had evolved in remarkable parallel. In every case, many of the same genes had mutated.

Although Doebeli’s experiments are more complex than Lenski’s, they’re still simple compared with what E. coli encounters in real life. E. coli is a resident of the gut, where it feeds on dozens of compounds, where it coexists with hundreds of other species, where it must survive changing levels of oxygen and pH, and where it must negotiate an uneasy truce with our immune system. Even if E. coli’s evolution might be predictable in a flask of glucose and acetate, it would be difficult to predict how the bacteria would evolve in the jungle of our digestive system.

5 comments:

Constructive_Feedback said...

[quote]exactly who are you for with all this tireless political advocacy for community nucleus minerals and consciousness valuables [/quote]


I AM For "NO MAN"
I AM For STRONG INSTITUTIONS -that respect NO 'SINGLE MAN' and thus compromises itself and its integrity in the process


In line with the notion "One Cannot Serve Two Masters" - it is critical that when we use the benefit of the "Freedom Of Thought" that the illusion called "America' affords us to construct the "VIRTUAL TEAMS" as our "Master" (through which our SALVATION will one day come but which ultimately abstracts the congregation from forming the foraging skills necessary to survive) - it is important for those in a leadership position who are serious about the INTEGRITY of their cause for HUMAN DEVELOPMENT always make sure that these "Man Made Religions" (Which includes 'American Political Opportunism') be made to PROVE their HEALING EFFECTS OVER TIME - or else the entire scheme becomes a ETHEREAL CONFIDENCE SYSTEM that FEEDS ITSELF as its main mission.


The FEED is similar to "Soylent Green" except it is HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS rather than THEIR BODY AS NUTRIENT.


You keep mistaking me as seeking out "FOLLOWERS".
I am merely applying my consulting skills of:
* Statement Of Work
* Discovery Observations
* Gap Analysis (comparing the actual to the 'Reference Model' of perfection)
* and Future State with a documentation of Dependencies


As is the case with my real world customers - THEY CAN CHOOSE to::


1) Accept what I provide and say "Thank You" , putting it on the shelf to collect dust
2) Get HOSTILE to what I say because they understand that to ADVANCE they must DESTROY the body of thought that they stand ATOP OF - providing them with their present position
3) OR look at their OWN REPORTS of the gap between what they HAD ANTICIPATED as they made their decades of INVESTMENTS compared to WHERE THEY ACTUALLY STAND - and then conclude "While I don't appreciate how that BASTARD insults us - I am hard pressed to explain why the exhaust generated from our 'Struggle Motion' engine has not provided the promised upward thrust as we look OUTSIDE of our window at the ROCKETSHIP of "Our Team" that seems to be rising. While they say that "We are a part of the team" - my altimeter shows no evidence of sustained, comprehensive uplift.

Constructive_Feedback said...

Brother MB:

While I am far more sympathetic to "African Centric" education than our friend CNu appears to be I have a key mandate.


While it is the case that those who push "African History" are no worse than those in America who push the POPULAR version of "American History" -sanitizing the savagery ..........


I have come to see that it is MORE IMPORTANT that a "Thought Movement" because to PROVE its competency in spreading its body of thought:


* Comprehensively among the group of interests
* Persistently (with Endurance) throughout the generations of its group of interests
* Efficiently - with its own channel of distribution that has minimal dependence upon those who they call "Their Oppressors"


and finally and most importantly - ALIGNING the people's PRESENT REPETITIVE "Time And Motion" with the HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTS that they seek to instill within their children.


I am more concerned that SOME "Africa-Centric" educational movements are more interested in FIGHTING A POLITICAL BATTLE against "White Supremacy" more than they care to define the greatness of our African ancestors as a separate and distinct entity.


Sadly too much of this body of thought fulfills the "Historians" present political agenda.


Can you detail any historical struggles between "races" in which the WHITE MAN was not involved?
(Ie: Did the African and the Chinese ever do battle?)

CNu said...

What might we call these "strong institutions" that easily and transparently encapsulates their mission and their constituents?

makheru bradley said...

Since the high performance data disprove your "victims of incompetence" venom, you shift to numbers. I don't see you starting any schools. Oops I forgot. Your development was stunted by the 2nd/3rd line civil rights inheritors.

CNu said...

You didn't disprove anything except that you lack any evidence for your high-performance claims. As for what I do, stay tuned pork chop. Completely bypassing the usual gatekeeping suspects, and wholly on my own, I secured the consent and the financial support of the civic community for my endeavor this past week. Now it's down to applications, sponsorship, and a bit of paperwork. Success is indeed the sweetest revenge....,

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