Evolution | World Tech Today

A new study by the Michigan State University researchers revealed that settling for Mr. Okay could be a good thing and a better evolutionary strategy rather than waiting for Mr. Right. In America, young women generally wait for a man who could assure them cent percent happiness. As the results of the recent study don’t reflect on everyone, those looking for Mr. Right are not discouraged.

Chris Adami, study co-author and professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, explained that an individual might wait to find the perfect partner, which also runs the risk of coming up empty and leaving no progeny. Settling early with a good mate offers an evolutionary advantage, especially to those living in a small group. Primitive humans were likely forced to take a chance on whether they could find a better mate.

The researchers said that human nature contains a powerful element of risk aversion. This would allow going for the safest bet when the stakes are very high. It would in turn encourage adjusting for a currently available partner as compared to waiting for more better mate to come along, which might increase the risk of one being never be able to mate at all.

The MSU researchers used a computer generated model in order to study risk-taking behaviors through the evolution with digital organisms. The organisms were programmed in order to make bets in high-payoff life-changing decisions, including choosing a mate.

The researchers, Adami and Arend Hintze, found that human nature is to take the safest bet when stakes are very high. This tendency is a positive thing rather than waiting for the Mr. Perfect. The art of decision making is likely to be affected by the size of one’s community and not the total population size.

Hintze added that evolution creates diversity in our appetite of risk and this is because we all don’t evolve the same way.

Source: MSU.

Researchers from the University of California in Los Angeles believe they might have discovered a microorganism that has not undergone any form of evolution for more than two billion years. The discovery essentially amounts to the longest ever absence of evolution in a single species.

UCLA professor of earth planetary and space sciences, William Schopf, has stated that it seems the microorganisms remained well adapted to their very simple yet stable physical and biological environment over the years.

The professor goes on to state that had the microorganisms been, in an environment that did not change but evolved themselves then, Darwin’s theory would have been put to question for being flaw. Darwin theory purports that organisms will always remain the same, unless there are some changes in their physical and biological environment.

Surface environments according to the professor are constantly changing consequently resulting in the biology change of organisms. The fact that the muds underneath the ocean remain undisturbed with fairly no signal from the environment above goes to show why the microorganism did not evolve in the more than 200 billion years.

The research team used a number of methods to investigate the age of the microbes, as well as their potential evolutionary impact. Some of the techniques used include Raman Spectroscopy that allows scientists to look inside rocks and determine their chemistry and composition.

Proceedings of the research published by the National Academy of Science suggest that the organisms survived five mass extinction events. The researchers had examined the microorganisms in samples of rocks discovered from the coastal waters of Western Australia.

Having carried tests also on samples of bacteria on the rocks thought to be 2.3 billion years, the researchers concluded that samples of the same bacteria remained indistinguishable from modern sulfur bacteria found on the coast of Chile. The findings essentially support Charles Darwin’s theory that evolution only occurs by Natural selection.

New study suggests better to go with Mr. Okay rather than wasting time for Mr. Perfect

Researchers discover microorganism with no affect of life evolution for last 2.3 billion years