[Timmy] Mutations DO occur in nature. But they cause the creature to DIE, not survive.
Hehehe... This just posted here:
BALTIMORE — For years after he won two gold medals in the 1964 Winter Games, Eero Mantyranta was dogged by rumors of deceit: The Finnish cross-country skier had something in his blood, people whispered, something that had given him an edge.
He never failed a drug test, but the rumors turned out to be true.
Scientists eventually discovered Mantyranta harbored a rare mutation in his DNA, a quirk that caused his body to crank out more red blood cells than the average athlete. The extra cells bathed his laboring muscles in oxygen, providing the boost he needed to glide past competitors.
On the eve of the Winter Games in Salt Lake City, sports officials and scientists fear the day may not be far off when athletes born without such lucky genes could add them, cheating not with drugs but DNA. ...
Nebullis, I have a theory for why we don't hear about more beneficial mutations, at least in humans: It's harder for the average doctor to justify the cost of doing a DNA analysis on a patient who is "too healthy" in some respect. But finding a genetic cause for the patient having some congenital problem is quite justifiable. What do you think?
I think this is true. But there are ongoing studies to determine why people are disposed to exceptional longevity, cancer resistance, why they can do with less sleep or run faster or have better cognitive function etc. These are considered genetic improvements from "normal", not simply absence of disease.
Remember the lactose intolerance mutation? Also, tetrochromats.