Please explain mutations

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Originally posted by Jonathan:
OK. That explains the functions of the mutation process. Now can someone provide a hypothetical mathamatical model for the mutations to occur in. For example. How many mutations and how much time will it take for a singe celled organism to mutate into a house fly? If it takes 1 year for a single mutation to occur in a species and 1 in every 500 mutations are beneficial then it would take 500 years for one beneficial mutation and so on. (These are purely hypothetical numbers that have absolutely no scientific basis.) Roughly how many mutations will be needed for the transformation? I realize that there is no definate answer to this question, I just want a rough idea.

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Thanks.

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Evolution doesn't work that way. You are basically putting effect before cause as if what an organism will eventually be is pre-determined. If evolution had to start all over again we may get completely different forms of life than we do now. In other words what best helps an organism survive to pass along a said trait to the next generation is what is used. Evolution is also a very wasteful "process".BTW, have you seen any of those high level artificial life programs? Some of the forms they produce using the evolutionary process are quite weird in comparison to what we're use to, but they do function well in their environment.[This message has been edited by nos482, 10-25-2002]

Originally posted by Jonathan:Maybe I should have been more clear. For a population that would have been present early on in the stages of life what would a typical evolutionary process be? At what rate would a "population" of flys ,or anything else, evolve? How often did the mutations occur? (over time and per species)

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What Im getting at is how do we know what occured and how it worked if no one was there to see it. Just because it "fits" isant good enough. Where is the evidence for it? How can we base a theory on the function of mutations when we dont even know how often the mutations occured? Or for that matter how often a positive mutation occured?It all depends in evironmental pressures. Some organism basicially remain the same for millions of years or more. I.E. Sharks and roaches.And yes, there was "someone" there, the organisms themselves when they speak to us through the fossil record. You are trying to see something which isn't there. The vast majority of mutations are fatal. Evolution is a very wasteful process.