Butterfly Unlocks Evolution Secret

Anonymous Coward writes "The BBC has an article about a dramatic discovery in the quest for understanding evolution. From the article: 'Why one species branches into two is a question that has haunted evolutionary biologists since Darwin. Given our planet's rich biodiversity, "speciation" clearly happens regularly, but scientists cannot quite pinpoint the driving forces behind it. Now, researchers studying a family of butterflies think they have witnessed a subtle process, which could be forcing a wedge between newly formed species.'"

Evolution of submissions

[Anonymous Coward]

And in a week or two, this submission will evolve only slightly and will reappear, slightly reworded, as another species of submission! Ain't evolution great.

Butterflies...

[ejito]

are racist...

so...

[passion]

they've decided to fork?

Geek speciation

[truckaxle]

FTA

The other mechanism that can theoretically divide a species is "reproductive isolation". This occurs when organisms are not separated physically, but "choose" not to breed with each other thereby causing genetic isolation, which amounts to the same thing.

Does this mean that geeks are soon to speciate and then ultimate fail as the male/female ratio is horrendously out of wack?

The source has been available for some time!

[nighty5]

Check it out it here :)

http://www.novell.com/products/desktop/features/ev olution.html [novell.com]

Re:Remember, evolution is just a theory.

[pointguy]

Evolution is just a theory. There are other theories as well. Please make sure your kids get taught every possible theory or you will probably wind up in hell... or worse.

Not that I believe in it, but what's worse than hell?

Re:Wasn't this obvious?

[gardyloo]

a butterfly might be amazed to find out that humans survive for 13 years before reaching reproductive age!

Cue the jokes about slashdotters...

Re:What the hell...?

[Breakfast Pants]

Zonk can still mate with Zonk and is still classified as Zonk but as we can tell he is beginning the split into a new species which won't maintain compatibility for long (people will have higher expectations of him).

Re:Remember, evolution is just a theory.

[Breakfast Pants]

My mother-in-law's house?

Re:Wasn't this obvious?

[shobadobs]

No! Why don't you cue the jokes! Every friggin time, I have to be the one cuing the jokes! Well this time, you're going to have to get off your lazy behind and do it yourself. I quit.

Thunderous surprise...

[Anonymous Coward]

It has been well known that butterflies are responsible for all of history for decades. Just
go back and read Bradbury again.

So what's so new about this article anyway?

Re:Evolution of submissions

[Breakfast Pants]

No, but God might decide that is deserves a repost so that some more people can learn about evolution and go to hell.

Re:Wasn't this obvious?

[Phragmen-Lindelof]

One time a slashdotter was on a date ...

but...

[Anonymous Coward]

the inside of the moon is pretty dark!

Damn

[teslatug]

/me looks at self for stripes that keep the females away

Whatever you do....

[Dark Paladin]

Don't tell the Kansas schoolboard - they have enough on their hands trying to deny all of the other evidence for evolution to have to handle another one.

Re:Creationists attacks

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember, the "scientists" at the Institution for Creation Research have to sign an oath that nothing they "discover" will ever conflict with a litteral interpretation of the Bible.

That is because the Bible, unlike science, is inerrant and a constant. Science changes over time. Witness the dozens of scientific theories of creation in the last few decades. Yet Christians have known the true story of Creation for over two thousand years. The scientists at ICR just realize that they shouldn't bother investigating deadend theories that contradict the Bible because they know those theories are wrong. This is the same reason why a mathematician doesn't bother proving a conjecture that contradicts known theorems.

Re:Geek speciation

[CptPicard]

No, it means that the geek species will survive the skewed gender ratio through adopting a polygamist model where one geek girl has a harem of 50 geek boys, using them as her semen producers and sex toys as she pleases while she is not solving differential equations or writing code.

I, for one, welcome our new geek dominatrix overladies!

Re:so...

[Biogenesis]

Yeah, one species decided to start charging a licence fee for the use of it's colouring.

Re:Dogs

[syntaxglitch]

Are we going to be muscle-less blobs that can't survive without robots?

You mean the amorphous mounds that I see driving around in SUVs aren't already precisely that?

silly researchers...

[soapdog]

Let me explain evolution... theres specie Geek, the Vi x Emacs force a species split up. Then we've got Vi Geek and Emacs Geek, after couple years they can't even talk to each other anymore, the Vi Geek always trying some cryptic commands and the Emacs Geek mutating more fingers to type even bigger key-chords... it's the same with butterflies I think... RGB Butterfly, CMYK Butterfly...

Re:Wasn't this obvious?

[Loonacy]

Keep going... I don't think I've ever heard this one before.

Re:Wasn't this obvious?

[Haydn Fenton]

I think that was the full joke...

Non-Mutation Split in humans?

[Savage-Rabbit]

It is easy to imagine that these two groups are slowly diverging, as they engage in different diets, breed within their own groups and engage in different physical activities.

That might actually apply to humans as well. I mean take Conservatives and Liberals. They engage in different physiclal activities and (mostly) breed within their own groups. So will the two eventually evolve into seperate species, Homo Conservativis and Homo Liberalis? Probably, however, due to the high population denisty among humans they will also be unable to escape having to interact with each other. So the two resultant species and their behavioral patterns will influence each others evolution won't they? I mean you would for example expect the Homo Conservativis to evolve sophisticated selective hearing in order to avoid hearing anything that Homo Liberals might say that contradicts with their religious ideas while the Homo Liberals will grow thick Neanderthal like skulls due to Homo Conservatives incessantly thumping theim on the head with a Bible.

Butterfly Unlocks Evolution Secret

[beaverbrother]

Damn smart butterfly

A Texas Republican is sure to respond.

[Anonymous Coward]

Demanding the scientist's personal info. Can't have such blasphomy against the bible(tm) getting confirmation! What's this science crap anyway? ...

mmm...team strip

[gadzook33]

"The reason evolution favours the emergence of a 'team strip'"...

is that stripping alone is simply dangerous

Newsbreak

[warkda rrior]

In unrelated news: Tennessee bans butteflies.

The Babel fish, by the late, great, Douglas Adams.

[TapeCutter]

Now it is such a bizarrely improbably coincidence that anything so mindbogglingly useful [as the Babel fish] could have evolved by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.

The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing." "But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."

"Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

Re:Creationists attacks

[Anonymous Coward]

Now evilutionists are trying to say the Bible evolved!

Slashdot is the devil!

Not Evolution

[nicc777]

This is not evolution but purely an adaption of the same kind of animal. I can gaurentee that in one billion years from now, they all will still be butterflies :)

Re:Intelligent Design, explained Intelligently

[Anonymous Coward]

We'll make you a deal. Until you build your own Internet and write the associated protocols, you must stop posting to Slashdot.

Re:Intelligent Design, explained Intelligently

[shawb]

No No No... god INTENDED for us to have a blind spot, um... so that we can cast aside our gaze from the devil without actually having to turn our heads. Yeah, cause otherwise he might tempt us into things like drugs and HOMOSEXUALITY!!!! Those who are tempted simply don't have the faith to use their divinely granted blind spot!

I mean, there are some lines of reasoning you just can't argue against. I'm not saying they're correct, just that you can't productively form an argument that they'll listen to.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Wasn't this obvious?

[lobsterGun]

> I can't remember what happens with the XXX variety

Brain puzzler for the day: Is it possible to phrase a search in google in such a way as to answer the above question without receiving results that resolve to porn sites?