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Loved this. The simpler models of evolution (random mutation + selection) reminds me a lot of walking, which is basically falling forward and catching yourself, over and over again, before your face hits the floor. The rate of mutation is tightly controlled in living systems, but never minimised to zero (and probably deliberately increased in response to certain stressors, possibly in more structured and intelligent ways than we understand currently). The mechanisms that allow individual immune system B cells mutate their antigen genes is probably just the tip of the iceberg of ways that life has learnt to carefully control the fire of mutation. We recently discovered neurons use a similar mechanism to diversify some of their surface proteins but have no clue why. Every cell in your brain is genetically unique. Try adding that to our cartoonish models of the brain.

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