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Comment by DiffEq | Hacker News Reader

You used the word "evolve" - I don't think this means what you think it means. Evolving means that positive mutations are occurring that assist these organisms; what is really happening is Natural Selection; where already present genetic capabilities are being favored and those populations are thus surviving.

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Mutations occur in bacteriophage. Those mutant bacteriophage which can attack previously resistant bacteria are then selected for and become more prevalent.

Your assertion has never been observed with any certainty that could withstand normal scientific inquiry; not even this experiment gives such certainty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._coli_long-term_evolution_ex...

The parent is talking about a virus; the wikipedia article talks about a bacterium. Can you explain further what it is refuting and how?

The article focus, and my focus, is a about how or if there is actual evolution occurring within DNA. It is separate and apart from the organism in question. My point is that almost everybody these days mixes up evolution and natural selection when they are two very distinct things.

All forms of selection that differ from the current equilibrium cause evolution in a group that is either sufficiently diverse group (assuming HGT or sexual reproduction) or has a sufficiently high mutation rate.

Mutation + selection = evolution.

Evolution doesn't necessarily mean positive mutations that assist. See http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq....

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