NationStates Jolt Archive

Which points back to selective breeding. The implication is that the farmers' decentralized system of disseminating coca cuttings has been amazingly effective - more so than genetic engineering could hope to be. When one plant somewhere in the country demonstrated tolerance to glyphosate, cuttings were made and passed on to dealers and farmers, who could sell them quickly to farmers hoping to withstand the spraying. The best of the next generation was once again used for cuttings and distributed.

This technique - applied over four years - is now the most likely explanation for the arrival of Boliviana negra. By spraying so much territory, the US significantly increased the odds of generating beneficial mutations. There are numerous species of coca, further increasing the diversity of possible mutations. And in the Amazonian region, nature is particularly adaptive and resilient.

"I thought it was unlikely," says Gressel, the plant scientist at the Weizmann Institute. "But farmers aren't dumb. They obviously spotted a lucky mutation and propagated the hell out of it."
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/columbia.html?pg=5&topic=columbia&topic_set=

Roundup resistant coca plants have evolved in South America. The US government has denied the existence of Roundup resistant coca. It still uses that herbicide in Columbia. If the US government finally recognises that coca evolves they're going to use a fungal herbicide that can remain in the soil for years and can attack a number of legitimate crops as well. That makes your fields useless for a long time.

Cool.

Don't be silly. God made them that way. (Sarcasm)

Don't be silly. God made them that way. (Sarcasm)

Yeah. God's a big coke head. He's always doing lines off the angel's tits through a rolled up infinity dollar bill.

Why would he need to? He's omnipotent, he can just WILL himself stoned.

Why would he need to? He's omnipotent, he can just WILL himself stoned.
Could god will so much pot into existence even he couldn't smoke it all?

Why would he need to? He's omnipotent, he can just WILL himself stoned.
Conspicuous consumption.

Why would he need to? He's omnipotent, he can just WILL himself stoned.

No he cant, because then he wouldn't know where his keys were and he would no longer be omnipotent.

Yeah. God's a big coke head. He's always doing lines off the angel's tits through a rolled up infinity dollar bill.

Wow, who would've thought that God was an 80's investment banker?

Wow, who would've thought that God was an 80's investment banker?

I know that if I was God I would be one.

Infinity dollar bill!:D

I know that if I was God I would be one.

Awesome. Awesome to the max.

Creationists are only opposed to evolution because it lets the fun never stop.

Yeah. God's a big coke head. He's always doing lines off the angel's tits through a rolled up infinity dollar bill.

Wouldn't you? :D

Wouldn't you? :D

Why do you think heaven is always shown as a bunch of white "clouds"?

Why do you think heaven is always shown as a bunch of white "clouds"?

I'm getting the feeling heaven looks more like Tony Montana's office.

Yeah. God's a big coke head. He's always doing lines off the angel's tits through a rolled up infinity dollar bill.

Well, his son's a wino, and maybe a pot head (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=509336) to boot.

I'm getting the feeling heaven looks more like Tony Montana's office.

Michelle Pfeiffer was rather angelic in that one, wasn't she?

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/columbia.html?pg=5&topic=columbia&topic_set=

Roundup resistant coca plants have evolved in South America. The US government has denied the existence of Roundup resistant coca. It still uses that herbicide in Columbia. If the US government finally recognises that coca evolves they're going to use a fungal herbicide that can remain in the soil for years and can attack a number of legitimate crops as well. That makes your fields useless for a long time.

The coca plants didn't evolve into a new kind of coca plant. Coca plants have alot of different genetic combinations, some of which are naturally resistant to roundup. The ones that weren't died off. That's not evolution. That's natural selection.

Yeah. God's a big coke head. He's always doing lines off the angel's tits through a rolled up infinity dollar bill.

May I quote this in my signature? It is too good to allow it to slip into obscurity.

The coca plants didn't evolve into a new kind of coca plant. Coca plants have alot of different genetic combinations, some of which are naturally resistant to roundup. The ones that weren't died off. That's not evolution. That's natural selection.

And how do you think evolution works?

May I quote this in my signature? It is too good to allow it to slip into obscurity.

actually I'd like that in my sig. *steals*

Awesome. Awesome to the max.

I love you.

Er... I mean, uh...

>.>

<.<

*poof*

The coca plants didn't evolve into a new kind of coca plant. Coca plants have alot of different genetic combinations, some of which are naturally resistant to roundup. The ones that weren't died off. That's not evolution. That's natural selection.

And let's all say what evolution is:

NATURAL SELECTION.

Basically, you just stated that evolution occurs, bub.

Good for the coca plants and the farmers. The US needs to quit bombing people and their crops with herbicides. It's none of our business.

Don't be silly. God made them that way. (Sarcasm)


Well, God surely opposes the Drug War.

Wow, who would've thought that God was an 80's investment banker?

Ahahaha! :D

If ever there was a sign from God to get high, this is it.

That's not evolution. That's natural selection.

Well, technically, it's Artificial Selection. Seeing as the farmers selected for a given trait.

Well, technically, it's Artificial Selection. Seeing as the farmers selected for a given trait.

I think organisms with certain traits proliferated because of less pressure from intraspecific competition. That is so natural selection, it doesn't matter what triggered it.

That's not evolution. That's natural selection.
That statement is gold.

The coca plants didn't evolve into a new kind of coca plant. Coca plants have alot of different genetic combinations, some of which are naturally resistant to roundup. The ones that weren't died off. That's not evolution. That's natural selection.

Haha

Wait, wait, wait...we use Roundup to kill coca plants?

That's so lame it hurts.

I think organisms with certain traits proliferated because of less pressure from intraspecific competition. That is so natural selection, it doesn't matter what triggered it.

Do you not understand the difference between Natural and Artificial Selection? :confused:

The Article

Which points back to selective breeding. The implication is that the farmers' decentralized system of disseminating coca cuttings has been amazingly effective - more so than genetic engineering could hope to be. When one plant somewhere in the country demonstrated tolerance to glyphosate, cuttings were made and passed on to dealers and farmers, who could sell them quickly to farmers hoping to withstand the spraying. The best of the next generation was once again used for cuttings and distributed.

This technique - applied over four years - is now the most likely explanation for the arrival of Boliviana negra. By spraying so much territory, the US significantly increased the odds of generating beneficial mutations. There are numerous species of coca, further increasing the diversity of possible mutations. And in the Amazonian region, nature is particularly adaptive and resilient.

"I thought it was unlikely," says Gressel, the plant scientist at the Weizmann Institute. "But farmers aren't dumb. They obviously spotted a lucky mutation and propagated the hell out of it."

The MUTATIONS were natural (at least apparently, and I'm not saying that they weren't natural). The allelic frequencey that resulted in the new Population's fitness (fitness being defined as the ratio of this specific plant variety's offspring to other varieties' offspring) was a product of the farmers -humans- selecting the best of the best generation after generation.

It's Artifical Selection. Same as Animal Husbandry. Still evolution, but technically not Natural Selection.

You could really only count the first generation (F0) of any survived plant as being the 'naturally' selected ones. And the (was it called 'Coca Negra'?) plant is most likely several artificially selected generations later.

EDIT: And the fact that the plants were sprayed by humans, you can even argue that the selective pressure is not necessarily natural. Your statement of " it doesn't matter what triggered it" isn't necessarily correct in the argument of Natural vs. Artificial Selection.

Well, technically, it's Artificial Selection. Seeing as the farmers selected for a given trait.

It's a form of domestication, I'd say. Same as farmers domesticated cereals, fruit, vegetables and an array of other plants for the traits they wanted. And turned them into new species.

It's a form of domestication, I'd say. Same as farmers domesticated cereals, fruit, vegetables and an array of other plants for the traits they wanted. And turned them into new species.

I agree, but I did point out 'animal husbandry' in my post. I suppose I could have defined 'domestication' as well...but that is, basically, what we're talking about...didn't really want to be redundant, but I could have stated it, and probably should have defined it as such :)