[jwalsh07]

"The duplicate study suggests that the pathways of molecular adaptation are reproducible and not highly variable under identical conditions," Shamoo said.

Kinda takes the random out of random, no? One would expect the same adaptation response to the same point mutation. But what directs the same point mutations to occur in regions that were identical in both heat resistant and non heat resistant critters?

The article is unclear about how many mutations took place versus the number of possible mutations that could have taken place. Perhaps that info would help me understand the significance a bit better.

[Antonello]

Kinda takes the random out of random, no?

Only anti-evolutionists have ever claimed that selection is random.

One would expect the same adaptation response to the same point mutation. But what directs the same point mutations to occur in regions that were identical in both heat resistant and non heat resistant critters?

The article is unclear about how many mutations took place versus the number of possible mutations that could have taken place. Perhaps that info would help me understand the significance a bit better.

Nothing 'directed' the mutations to happen at all. The mutations occurred randomly, but only those that granted a benefit regarding the changing environment were selected. Therefore only a few of the thousands of mutations that were observed made the cut. And it was those same few in each execution of the experiment.

[js1138]

Kinda takes the random out of random, no? One would expect the same adaptation response to the same point mutation. But what directs the same point mutations to occur in regions that were identical in both heat resistant and non heat resistant critters?

What makes you think this isn't just a case of only a few kinds of mutations being useful? There are countless examples of variation not producing the outcome necessary for the survival of a species. It's called extinction.