Simulated evolution gets complex Technology Research News It has
taken more than five decades, but the electronic computer is now
powerful enough to simulate evolution. Researchers from Michigan
State University have used software to prove Charles Darwin's
postulation that small, seemingly inconsequential changes over
thousands of generations can result in the evolution of complex
functions. They also uncovered a twist on conventional
evolutionary thinking -- it seems that some mutations that are
harmful in the short run may boost long-term potential. A better
understanding of evolution promises to improve software and
provide new ways to address engineering challenges. The
researchers' simulation involves bits of software that self-
replicate, but not perfectly. When the digital organisms make
copies of themselves they sometimes make random errors, just as
DNA is subject to mutations when it replicates. Many of the
mutations are neutral or harmful. "But occasionally a variant
comes along that replicates faste