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Another God
Hows this for an idea that struck me one day?OK, most 'bugs' that we get are bacteria that release toxins which react badly with us. There are many more bacteria which live inside us and don't release these toxins, so we don't notice them. It would therefore seem that these non harmful bacteria are actualy better evolved than the harmful ones. They are better evolved because the harmful ones cauld cause their host to die. This would result in their own death. The non harmful ones don't do anything wrong, so their host is more likely to continue living, and so give them a good steady home for a long time to come.A better relationship, would be where the bacteria actually helped its host. By doing so, it would actually help its host survive, ensuring it had a more succesful home, and improving its chances of its own survival.A good example of this sort of Symbiosis in nature would be termites, Cows, and Koalas. Each of these animals eats Callulose rich plants as their primary food source, but not one of them can digest cellulose. How does it get nutrition? The bacteria living in its guts eats the cellulose, breaking it down for the animal to get the nutrients from the left over bits. That way the bacteria gets food delivered to their doorstep, and the animal gets a food source which is in high abundance, because most other animals can't digest it.Now, here's the next step which is the idea in question. How often, if ever, in the past do you think that the DNA of a Symbiont has been incorporated into the DNA of its host? Has this concept played any sort of influential role in the evolution of complex internal organs? Maybe our intestines were once some sort of tape worm, long since incorporated into our DNA...?(Koalas aren't born with these bacteria in their gut. When they are babies, they eat the faeces of their parents, and take in the bacteria that way. Nice huh? I am not sure about cows and termites though.)I wonder if Koalas could live without their little cellulose digesting symbionts...??? If my theory holds any water, I wonder why they haven't been incorporated into the Koala DNA yet? How long does it take if it does happen?From a Natural selection stand point, obviously a koala which is born with such an attribute would have an advantage over one which needs to find a source of bacteria...yeah? Selection pressure that way?How long do you want to live?Home to Immortals