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Originally Posted by Biochemist
Nice post, and nice perspective, Pyro....
2) The degree of "front loading"- The surprising degree of biochemical complexity (completely unknown to Darwin) continues to rise. If you couple the massive chaotic complexity in later phyla with the advent of lysosomes in the first eukaryotes (thus essentially "locking in" the intracytoplasmic machinery at the first eukaryote), it suggests that the "end game" was somewhat decided, or at least limited at the first eukaryote. It remains surprising that the early biochemical cytoplasmic machinery could support such a broad array of body plans, and that such a broad array of body plans could arise without significant change in the cytoplasmic machinery...
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Hi Bioch,
and thanks.
Again, I am not surprised at the "front loading". Remember, it took from 3 BYrA to .6 BYrA to achieve eukaryotic complexity, with all the cellular machinery that multi-celled plants and animals required BEFORE they could start evolving.
Call it 2.5+ BYr to evolve *just* the basic floor plan of the single cell, with its mitochondrial energy-plant, the lysosomes, the cytoplasm, the DNA, the messenger RNA, the standardized use of 4 amino acids to construct all proteins/enzymes which become the "tools", "agents", "end effectors", "sensors", "gateways", "garbage collectors" and "structural elements" of the fantastically complex cell machinery.
Yes, there was a LOT of front loading going on. But that front loading took 4 or 5 times longer (~2.5+ BYr versus ~.6 BYr) then the development of ALL the body plans that ALL plants and animals have developed since.
Sounds about right to me.
More later.
