There's plenty of time for evolution

Objections to Darwinian evolution are often based on the time required to carry out the necessary mutations. Seemingly, exponential numbers of mutations are needed. We show that such estimates ignore the effects of natural selection, and that the numbers of necessary mutations are thereby reduced to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2010-12, Vol.107 (52), p.22454-22456
Main Authors: Wilf, Herbert S., Ewens, Warren J., Kadison, Richard V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Alphabetic letters
Alphabets
Animals
Biological evolution
Biological Sciences
Biological variation
Computer science
Evolution
Evolution, Molecular
Evolutionary theories
Genetic loci
Genetic mutation
Genomes
Genomics
Humans
Models, Genetic
Mutation
Mutation - genetics
Natural selection
Physical Sciences
Random variables
Selection, Genetic
Time Factors
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Summary:Objections to Darwinian evolution are often based on the time required to carry out the necessary mutations. Seemingly, exponential numbers of mutations are needed. We show that such estimates ignore the effects of natural selection, and that the numbers of necessary mutations are thereby reduced to about K log L, rather than K L , where L is the length of the genomic "word," and K is the number of possible "letters" that can occupy any position in the word. The required theory makes contact with the theory of radix-exchange sorting in theoretical computer science, and the asymptotic analysis of certain sums that occur there.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1016207107