|
Random Politics & Religion #00
By Jetackuu 2014-07-26 12:57:47
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Why would selection appear to favor sperm that work together instead of sperm that outright out-competes its competitors, related or not?
Can you imagine doing your graduate work on sperm?! Let alone your career! That would... blow.
Bismarck.Bloodrose
Server: Bismarck
Game: FFXI
Posts: 4322
By Bismarck.Bloodrose 2014-07-26 12:58:11
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Why would selection appear to favor sperm that work together instead of sperm that outright out-competes its competitors, related or not?
Can you imagine doing your graduate work on sperm?! Let alone your career! Some people live a life of Turkey Impregnators as their career.
Because Turkeys are apparently too stupid to mate (successfully) with themselves.
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 13:08:33
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Why would selection appear to favor sperm that work together instead of sperm that outright out-competes its competitors, related or not?
Can you imagine doing your graduate work on sperm?! Let alone your career! That would... blow.
Cerberus.Pleebo
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9720
By Cerberus.Pleebo 2014-07-26 13:13:14
[+]
By Jetackuu 2014-07-26 13:14:31
Is that from that newer crappy disney show Pleebs?
Cerberus.Pleebo
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9720
By Cerberus.Pleebo 2014-07-26 13:15:19
I have no idea, lol. More random ***I pick up from the internet.
[+]
Bahamut.Milamber
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3691
By Bahamut.Milamber 2014-07-26 13:17:09
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Um, this is not altruism, this is altruistic, in that it is self-sacrificing. You could say that hair and skin cells show altruistic behavior, in that in their death, they provide additional protection for other cells of the organism.
Arguing that cellular level altruistic behavior is the same as high level cognitive behavior (altruism) isn't just misleading, it's also wrong.
I provided the slime mold example above. One doesn't restrict evolutionary mechanisms only to high level cognitive species.
As far as the wood mouse example I dunno what to say. I mean the wood mouse sperm is a very classic example that is used to present altruism/altruistic behavior. So the argument is that in both the slime mold and the sperm, these cells choose death?
There is no trigger or activation, no accumulation of chemicals or exposure, which externally activates?
Hell, examining cells in the slime mold which underwent apoptosis (against each other) versus cells in the fruiting body that did not
(also against each other).
In the case of the sperm, there is no external trigger which causes these reactions?
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 13:17:19
Is that from that newer crappy disney show Pleebs?
I have a confession to make...I was obsessed with Wizards of Waverly!
[+]
Bahamut.Milamber
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3691
By Bahamut.Milamber 2014-07-26 13:20:36
The individual mouse is potentially sacrificing its chances at reproducing so its relatives can have an increased advantage over non-relatives. That's pretty much the textbook definition of biological altruism - a trait or traits that confers increased fitness to other organisms at the cost to one's own. I might be misreading, but from what I am understanding, it isnt't the individual mouse sacrificing its chances, it is the individual sperm. In other words (to put it gaming forum style) the ejaculate from an individual mouse, rather than entering it as a no-holds barred deathmatch, goes co-op mode as a train, with the tail end playing defense and holding up the competition.
VIP
Server: Odin
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9534
By Odin.Jassik 2014-07-26 13:21:18
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Uh... no, genetics is the study of the genome. It's about mapping traits to specific sequences of genetic code, deconstructing them mechanisms of procreation on the chemical level. Darwinian evolution hasn't been redefined, it's been refined with ADDITIONAL information from 2 centuries of study.
Evolutionary genetics.
I don't see how you can separate genetics from "evolutionary genetics", genes change in any reproductive process, it's completely encompassed within ANY type of genetic research.
By Jetackuu 2014-07-26 13:23:00
I have no idea, lol. More random ***I pick up from the internet.
It looks like it's Jamie Lynn Spears, according to google image search.
I was thinking of this chick:
Olivia Holt
By fonewear 2014-07-26 13:23:57
John Stuart Mill would be proud of the sperm.
Cerberus.Pleebo
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9720
By Cerberus.Pleebo 2014-07-26 13:27:44
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Is that from that newer crappy disney show Pleebs?
I have a confession to make...I was obsessed with Wizards of Waverly! I watched it occasionally for the older brother. I'm not proud of it but I've come to terms.
The individual mouse is potentially sacrificing its chances at reproducing so its relatives can have an increased advantage over non-relatives. That's pretty much the textbook definition of biological altruism - a trait or traits that confers increased fitness to other organisms at the cost to one's own. I might be misreading, but from what I am understanding, it isnt't the individual mouse sacrificing its chances, it is the individual sperm. In other words (to put it gaming forum style) the ejaculate from an individual mouse, rather than entering it as a no-holds barred deathmatch, goes co-op mode as a train, with the tail end playing defense and holding up the competition. No, that's what is happening, but the fact that it occurs at the level of the cell doesn't matter. The biological definition centers around fitness so by forming sperm trains (oh god) the mouse is reducing its fitness to help its kin. Therefore, it would be considered altruism.
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 13:32:25
I don't see how you can separate genetics from "evolutionary genetics", genes change in any reproductive process, it's completely encompassed within ANY type of genetic research.
EDIT: Evolutionary genetics, along with population genetics, are subfields of evolutionary biology and genetics. They have more to do with evolutionary biology than genetics, in that studying the whole genome isn't so relevant as to answering why and how often a specific trait is occurring in a population. I mean it's really like comparing genetics to molecular biology they are very much related but have differences. I re-read @Altimaomega post. Darwinian evolution(old school evolutionary bio) had more to do with phenotype changes over populations rather than genotype changes over generations. That's how it was revised/redefined. Evolutionary genetics addresses that by tracking genotype changes over generations.
Also genes don't always change in every reproductive process. Prokaryotic fission and viral(non-retroviral) replication are two examples that produce genetically identical copies.
VIP
Server: Odin
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9534
By Odin.Jassik 2014-07-26 13:42:22
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »I don't see how you can separate genetics from "evolutionary genetics", genes change in any reproductive process, it's completely encompassed within ANY type of genetic research.
Evolutionary genetics, along with population genetics, are subfields of evolutionary biology and genetics. They have more to do with evolutionary biology than genetics, in that studying the whole genome isn't so relevant as to answering why and how often a specific trait is occurring in a population.
Genes don't always change in every reproductive process. Prokaryotic fission and viral(non-retroviral) replication are two examples that produce genetically identical copies.
Asexual reproduction DOESN'T produce direct copies, bro, why do you think viruses and more complex asexual organisms experience changes from one generation to the next? Every single genetic reproduction has some mutation, at least, every one we have observed.
Evolutionary biology? Genetics is genetics, regardless of what portion of the genome you are studying. It's not some subfield of social science or even biology, it takes elements from organic chemistry, physics, biology, and other fields. It is researched in conjunction with those other fields as well, and they are finding more and more the way genetics touches those fields. In the early 90's when they were first starting to explore the inner workings of the genome, you could have called it a subfield, though.
Bahamut.Milamber
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3691
By Bahamut.Milamber 2014-07-26 13:51:35
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Is that from that newer crappy disney show Pleebs?
I have a confession to make...I was obsessed with Wizards of Waverly! I watched it occasionally for the older brother. I'm not proud of it but I've come to terms.
The individual mouse is potentially sacrificing its chances at reproducing so its relatives can have an increased advantage over non-relatives. That's pretty much the textbook definition of biological altruism - a trait or traits that confers increased fitness to other organisms at the cost to one's own. I might be misreading, but from what I am understanding, it isnt't the individual mouse sacrificing its chances, it is the individual sperm. In other words (to put it gaming forum style) the ejaculate from an individual mouse, rather than entering it as a no-holds barred deathmatch, goes co-op mode as a train, with the tail end playing defense and holding up the competition. No, that's what is happening, but the fact that it occurs at the level of the cell doesn't matter. The biological definition centers around fitness so by forming sperm trains (oh god) the mouse is reducing its fitness to help its kin. Er, no; the train apparantly actually moves faster than individual sperm.
The altruistic component evidently is that after the train breaks up, some of the sperm in the train lost the ability to penetrate the egg, therefore some sperm 'sacrifice' the ability to fertilize the ovum, in order to allow quicker progression over the overall body.
By that logic, staged rockets are altruistic, with lower stages sacrificing themselves in order for the payload to achieve orbit.
In any event, on the second page, it essentially states that evidence for true altruism in Eutherian mammals is lacking.
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 13:52:55
Asexual reproduction doesn't produce direct copies, Yes it does. Hence why the process, DNA replication.
Quote: DNA replication is the process of producing two identical replicas from one original DNA molecule.
Such as in prokaryotic fission and viral(non-retroviral) replication. Mutation is not directly part of the process.
Retroviral replication does not produce direct copies, hence why i specified the difference in my post. The goal of binary fission and viral replication is to produce genetically identical copies.
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 14:01:58
So the argument is that in both the slime mold and the sperm, these cells choose death?
There is no trigger or activation, no accumulation of chemicals or exposure, which externally activates?
Hell, examining cells in the slime mold which underwent apoptosis (against each other) versus cells in the fruiting body that did not
(also against each other).
In the case of the sperm, there is no external trigger which causes these reactions?
Microbial Cooperation - Altruism
Quote: Programmed cell death (PCD) is another suggested form of microbial altruistic behavior. Although programmed cell death (also known as apoptosis or autolysis) clearly provides no direct fitness benefit, it can be evolutionary adaptive if it provides indirect benefits to individuals with high genetic relatedness (kin selection). Several altruistic possibilities have been suggested for PCD, such as providing resources that could be used by other cells for growth and survival in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.[14][15] While using kin selection to explain the evolutionary benefits of PCD is common, the reasoning contains some inherent problems. Charlesworth (1978) noted that it is extremely hard for a gene causing suicide to spread because only relatives that do NOT share the gene would ultimately benefit.[16] Therefore, the possible solution to this problem in microbes is that selection could favor a low probability of PCD among a large population of cells, possibly depending upon individual condition, environmental conditions, or signaling.
Bahamut.Milamber
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3691
By Bahamut.Milamber 2014-07-26 14:02:42
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: » Asexual reproduction doesn't produce direct copies, Yes it does. Hence why the process, DNA replication.
Quote: DNA replication is the process of producing two identical replicas from one original DNA molecule. Later on in that same paragraph from Wikipedia:
Wikipedia said: Cellular proofreading and error-checking mechanisms ensure near perfect fidelity for DNA replication[1][2] Where [1] links to:
Imperfect DNA replication results in mutations. Berg JM, Tymoczko JL, Stryer L, Clarke ND (2002). "Chapter 27: DNA Replication, Recombination, and Repair". Biochemistry. W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-3051-0.
[+]
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 14:11:55
You're not reading that sentence correctly. The job of DNA polymerases is to assemble an idetical DNA copy. There are variences occasionally, but NOT always.
Additionally, the statement you are quoting encompasses retrotranscription.
Bahamut.Milamber
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3691
By Bahamut.Milamber 2014-07-26 14:14:50
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »So the argument is that in both the slime mold and the sperm, these cells choose death?
There is no trigger or activation, no accumulation of chemicals or exposure, which externally activates?
Hell, examining cells in the slime mold which underwent apoptosis (against each other) versus cells in the fruiting body that did not
(also against each other).
In the case of the sperm, there is no external trigger which causes these reactions?
Microbial Cooperation - Altruism
Quote: Programmed cell death (PCD) is another suggested form of microbial altruistic behavior. Although programmed cell death (also known as apoptosis or autolysis) clearly provides no direct fitness benefit, it can be evolutionary adaptive if it provides indirect benefits to individuals with high genetic relatedness (kin selection). Several altruistic possibilities have been suggested for PCD, such as providing resources that could be used by other cells for growth and survival in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.[14][15] While using kin selection to explain the evolutionary benefits of PCD is common, the reasoning contains some inherent problems. Charlesworth (1978) noted that it is extremely hard for a gene causing suicide to spread because only relatives that do NOT share the gene would ultimately benefit.[16] Therefore, the possible solution to this problem in microbes is that selection could favor a low probability of PCD among a large population of cells, possibly depending upon individual condition, environmental conditions, or signaling. At which point, the concept of altruistic behavior (sacrificing of self) is somewhat violated.
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 14:19:30
At which point, the concept of altruistic behavior (sacrificing of self) is somewhat violated.
So what your saying is you just don't agree with how biological altruism is defined?
Bahamut.Kara
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3544
By Bahamut.Kara 2014-07-26 15:01:07
Nigeria 'on red alert' over Ebola death in Lagos
Quote: Nigeria says it has put all entries into the country on red alert after confirming the death of a Liberian man who was carrying the Ebola virus.
The man died after arriving at Lagos airport on Tuesday, in the first Ebola case in Africa's most populous country.
Surveillance has been stepped up at all "airports, seaports and land borders", says Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu.
Since February, more than 660 people have died of Ebola in West Africa - the world's deadliest outbreak to date.
It began in southern Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Cerberus.Pleebo
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9720
By Cerberus.Pleebo 2014-07-26 15:03:56
Er, no; the train apparantly actually moves faster than individual sperm.
The altruistic component evidently is that after the train breaks up, some of the sperm in the train lost the ability to penetrate the egg, therefore some sperm 'sacrifice' the ability to fertilize the ovum, in order to allow quicker progression over the overall body.
By that logic, staged rockets are altruistic, with lower stages sacrificing themselves in order for the payload to achieve orbit.
In any event, on the second page, it essentially states that evidence for true altruism in Eutherian mammals is lacking. I'm not seeing where the disconnect is. That type of behavior suggest textbook altruism since the sperm's ability to fertilize is exchanged for increased mobility of the train. Sorry, I can't look at the article right now, but the wording in the abstract seems to suggest a true working altruistic mechanism.
Your rocket analogy would fit better if, for some silly reason, each rocket was tasked with delivering their own payload but was designed to sacrifice itself when targeted for destruction. That is, each individual had its own goal but forwent its purpose to aid its cohort. Not the cleanest example but it's a hard analogy to work with.
Bahamut.Milamber
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3691
By Bahamut.Milamber 2014-07-26 15:04:54
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »You're not reading that sentence correctly. The job of DNA polymerases is to assemble an idetical DNA copy. There are variences occasionally, but NOT always. The intent of DNA replication is to have an identical copy; the job of the DNA polymerase is to assemble the identical copy. The actuality is that it is pretty damn close to perfect, but errors do still occur.
How am I reading it incorrectly?
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 15:05:31
That's horrible, are antivirals not available to the people? I know there are now experimental drugs for Ebola.
The intent of DNA replication is to have an identical copy; the job of the DNA polymerase is to assemble the identical copy. The actuality is that it is pretty damn close to perfect, but errors do still occur.
How am I reading it incorrectly?
Ok you are arguing the "what if." Does it produce errors occasionally? Yes. Is it always erroneous? No. Is it as erroneous as reverse transcription? No.
The actuality is in viral replication and prokaryotic fission, DNA replication is a fairly accurate process. The rate of error varies plain and simple. But to say that DNA replication isn't an accurate process is incorrect. Additionally to say that DNA replication does not produce identical copies is incorrect.
Never did I say DNA replication does not produce errors ever. What I did say is that DNA replication does produce identical copies.
Bahamut.Kara
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3544
By Bahamut.Kara 2014-07-26 15:12:26
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »That's horrible, are antivirals not available to the people? I know there are now experimental drugs for Ebola. When the outbreak started the doctors were not wearing proper containment gear and a lot of them died. The WHO sent out a few teams but there were problems with people refusing treatment, or as that article mentions, people leaving the health facilities.
As far as I know there are no antivirals that work and 75-90%~ of cases lead to death.
Here's the history pretty much of the outbreak so far
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_West_Africa_Ebola_outbreak
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-26 15:23:17
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »That's horrible, are antivirals not available to the people? I know there are now experimental drugs for Ebola. When the outbreak started the doctors were not wearing proper containment gear and a lot of them died. The WHO sent out a few teams but there were problems with people refusing treatment, or as that article mentions, people leaving the health facilities.
As far as I know there are no antivirals that work and 90%~ of cases lead to death.
Here's the history pretty much of the outbreak so far
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_West_Africa_Ebola_outbreak
Yeah same company who came out with a broadspectrum treatment earlier this year made the news this month.
BioCryst Bets on New Ebola Drug to Fight Bioterror, Outbreak Threats
Bahamut.Kara
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3544
By Bahamut.Kara 2014-07-26 15:26:40
Interesting. Hopefully it will be ready for the next outbreak.
Bahamut.Milamber
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3691
By Bahamut.Milamber 2014-07-26 15:27:02
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »At which point, the concept of altruistic behavior (sacrificing of self) is somewhat violated.
So what your saying is you just don't agree with how biological altruism is defined? Either I am misunderstanding it (which is certainly possible), or it seems to be a strangely distinguished specialization of a sacrifical strategy. Or simply a frame of reference problem.
Does it matter, evolutionarily speaking, if some sperm is sacrified as long as it ensures a greater possibility that one from the host makes it, as opposed to one from another host?
And arguably, if we consider this particular strategy in a longer term, where now all of the population is able to chain equally well, and selection now refocuses on the viability after chaining? So that an increase in viabilty post train (a decrease in altruisic behavior, by the definition, if we return to 100% viability) now determines the competitive advantage, or fitness?
Random Politics & Religion is for topics that aren't thread worthy on their own and do not have their own existing thread.
Rules and Guidelines
Forum Rules and P&R Section Guidelines still apply.
Satire is tolerated.
If your topic covers a story over 6 months old (Watergate, Benghazi, 2012 Election, etc.) post it here.
Discussions on racism, homophobia, transphobia, and the like are allowed, targeted insults based on these will not be tolerated.
Political debates get heated and are meant to be intense, if you take offense to being called or proven wrong, you don't belong here.
If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen; if you prove you can't handle the criticism you bring upon yourself in this thread, you may be removed from it. You are responsible for what you post.
Along those lines, heat is fine, but sustained, clearly personal hostility is not okay. The personal attack rules still apply. Attack positions, not posters. Failure to adhere to this will result in your removal from the thread.
This thread is NOT the Flame Core.
These rules are subject to change and modification where and when needed.
Random Politics & Religion may be mained or demained depending on the activity within at a Moderator's discretion.
With that out of the way, let the debates begin!
/bow
|
|