Evolution without death?

If it becomes possible for orgainisums to alter their DNA or even just their phenotype through Biotechnology or similar tecnology would it be possible for evolution to occor?Normaly individual organisums cannot evolve because mutations can only take place in one cell at a time although a single celled orgainisum could be said to evolve if it mutated. If a mutated cell is not a gamete then the mutation is not passed down. But if an individual organisum could alter it's DNA it could evolve right?Would we call this evolution? Or would this be something else?

Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

It is more than possible. It is called "gene therapy" and is currently in limited clinical trials in humans. No, I don't think so. Evolution refers to changes in allele frequencies in populations over time, not in individuals. Transmogrification? Isn't that what Calvin & Hobbes called it?

dude, i want a transmogrifier.in fact, i think i'll go find a cardboard box and a marker right now!

Yes. No, if an individual single cell organism mutates into something else, it would be called a mutation, not evolution. The way evolution is defined nowadays prevent such usage in such manner. Not really. Cells that multiply through mitosis can pass down their mutations as well. No, it would mutate. Again, based on our current definition of evolution, a single organism cannot evolve no matter what you do with it. I'm going to side with Kafka and call it metamorphosis.

Well the gene frequencys in a population COULD change over time. If somone "transmogrifyes" something novel and advantagious they might sell the genes (or superviuses that would transcribe the genes) in the same way we sell computer programs.Thanks to Lam for correcting my terminology I should have been more careful.

Dread Dormammu- "they might sell the genes (or superviuses that would transcribe the genes) in the same way we sell computer programs."Wait a second...I know nothing about this. Please elaborate.

It's not suprising that you haven't heard of it, because it's totaly fictional. But lets say we had some kind of gateway outside our cells nucielus. We could put it 9the gateway) there through Genetic engeneering or through gene therapy etc.When we want to upgrade our DNA we inject a bunch of virues with the genes we want into our bodies, they line up with the gateway and inject the genes into our cells.This would work differently than normal gene therapy because the genes could be incoparated into any or all of aour tissues depending on our needs. I might be mistaken but I think normal gene threapy only affects the specific tissues that the engennered virus would normaly infect.This system might be more versitile than standard gene therapy and would even be able to put those genes into our germ line. The obvious danger would be that people could hijack your cells if they found out what your gateway protein was.