Category: Uncategorized

EMERGENT PROPERTIES. "We can imagine the emergence of arbitrary complexity in autonomously evolving computer viruses." https://lnkd.in/dGC6A7c View in LinkedIn

IS SMALL SUFFICIENT? "The question that arises from these examples is whether small malware code changes—even if collected under a single malware implementation—are sufficient for the evolution of the functional complexity exhibited by biological viruses." https://lnkd.in/dGC6A7c View in LinkedIn

GIANT CODE. "Imagine a random change that results in the macro code becoming very large, either as the result of several layers of merged code or additional polymorphisms. This can easily exhaust typical scanning engines for macro viruses due to memory limitations reserved for the macro code within the engines. As a consequence, an evolved copy can potentially escape just by being too large." https://lnkd.in/dGC6A7c View in LinkedIn

DORMANT CODE. "During a mode of viral reproduction termed “lysogenic”, viruses such as bacteriophages integrate their genome into the host’s genome and become dormant. When such viruses convert back to the lytic (aggressive) mode of reproduction, they excise themselves from the genome." https://lnkd.in/dGC6A7c View in LinkedIn

CHIMERIC CODE. "In the event of coinfection, the excised viral genome might be a combination of more than one viral strain leading to the creation of chimeric viral particles." https://lnkd.in/dGC6A7c View in LinkedIn

VERY RARE. "All vertebrates develop lateralized visceral organs during embryogenesis, but flatfish are virtually the only vertebrates that also undergo significant asymmetric post-embryonic development." https://lnkd.in/dxtUYFT View in LinkedIn

FORECASTING OBLIVION. "A single computer randomly generating 1000 bit patterns...would generate a new operational virus...once every 10(+249) years. Even with the expansion of the computer base worldwide it seems highly unlikely that such a random mutation would generate a new computer virus." This is far from convincing. https://lnkd.in/dXsqH3b View in LinkedIn

COMBINED STEP MODEL. "The view of the present author is that in none of them is there convincing evidence to conclude that the groups arose solely through gradual changes. More specifically, there is no basis to reject an evolutionary origin of the major traits in each group that included at least one principal innovation, occurring in a large, discontinuous step, preceded and followed by relatively small, more gradual changes. https://lnkd.in/dDbgqi3 View in LinkedIn

BIG STEP CANDIDATES. "Four “classic” examples of animals—flatfishes, turtles, bolyerine snakes, and gastropod molluscs—each of which has seemed difficult to interpret as resulting from a continuous series of tiny increments." https://lnkd.in/dDbgqi3 View in LinkedIn

IMPORTANT QUESTION. "Whether the evolution of major adaptations is mainly a matter of amassing such small increments of change, or if a significant proportion occurs through the inclusion of one or more large steps, is vital to the understanding of how evolution works." https://lnkd.in/dDbgqi3 View in LinkedIn