It’s still unknown as to why the speed and complexity of evolution increases with time. It seems that scientists from Rice University have come up with a possible answer and they state that the speed of evolution has increased over time since bacteria and viruses keep on exchanging identical chunks of DNA between species and hence it leads to faster evolution in the case of life forms rather if they had just relied on sexual selection or random genetic mutations.
Michael Deem, Professor, John W. Cox stated:
We have developed the first exact solution of a mathematical model of evolution that accounts for this cross-species genetic exchange.
The mathematical model developed by them helps in finding out how HGT affects the overall dynamics of evolution. The researchers showcased the manner in which HGT increased the rate of evolution by propagation of favorable mutations across populations.
Via innovations
