ELECTRIC WORD
Call it survival of the oddest. About 100 years ago, Darwin contemporary Edward B. Poulton theorized that predators are more likely to notice ordinary-looking prey, while animals with unusual markings will go unnoticed and live to contribute to later generations. Now that theory has been proven by two biology professors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who used fake moths, real blue jays, and genetic algorithms to simulate natural selection. In the experiment, the computer tracks a population of 200 moths, each with a different wing pattern. The insects are displayed against a speckled background on a touchscreen monitor, which the birds peck away at. When a moth is eaten, its genes have a reduced chance of contributing to the next generation. The result: the evolution of species.
ELECTRIC WORD
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