Introduction to Genetics

She doesn't think that chimps have 40 million places of damage relative to their "original ancestors".

Sorry, Faith, but there is no proof in any science. Just varying degrees of support and confidence. That's just a fact.E.g. the age of the Earth is not proven but it is so well supported that there is no actual possibility that it will be disproven. It is as solid as the Sun coming up tomorrow. But it has not been proven.

.Edited by JonF, : Submitted too soon

Short answer: luck. Luck happens. People win the lottery. Most don't.If it had not arisen mice wouldn't have moved into the black lava ecosystem. Something else might have. Or the mice might have died out completely if the black lava wiped out the brown desert. All sorts of other scenarios are possible. One scenario happened. Randomly.Remember that the vast, vast majority of species, estimated well over 90%, did not get a beneficial mutation in time to avoid extinction. Yup. Or maybe four LLs or three LLs and a DL. All the DLs are dark. So what? Nothing. Luck of the draw. You have no idea what the probability of any appropriate mutation, the ones discussed or others that might have similar effects, is. Depending on how many different mutations would have the effect and other factors, the odds will still be small but still reasonably possible. Or not. It just doesn't matter. Even if the odds are minuscule, events that are astoundingly improbable happen all the time. The probability of your scenario, an allele that has persisted for thousands of years against selective pressure, is 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000. You don't have a glimmer of a clue what the odds are.Remember, almost all species lose the evolution lottery. Winners are as rare as state lottery winners.