Originally posted by cownosecat
Okay I know this is short, but hey it's to the point. Okay so bacteria mutate on a regular basis, especially when attacked by a bodies immune
system.
I am unaware of any information suggesting that they mutate more when under attack like that. The mutations that are beneficial have a better chance
of surviving tho, so the population as a whole changes quickly, perhaps that is what you are thinking of?
Does this meen they are evolving?
Its a population with inheritable variation that is subjected to natural selection and results in adaptations, so yup, thats a classic example of
evolution,
And why are viruses not alive? Just because some definition on what it is to be alive says so?
Because they don't reproduce or really do anything that life does. They're just these shells of genetic material that, if it happens to get shoved
into a working cell, the matieral can get reproduced.
I think they are still alive.
I think that they're pretty darned close. Prions are misformed proteins, that can induce misforming in 'normal' proteins, thus making more prions,
thats pretty darned close too.
eaglewings
No, bacteria aren't evolving. An E. Coli bacterium that mutates is still an E. Coli.
Evolution doesn't require speciation. Also, a bacteria isn't going to evolve into another already existant species of bacteria, and we've certainly
witness speciation anyways. But a simple colony of bacteria existing naturally is constantly undergoing evolution.
