Mysterious DNA sequences, known as ‘Borgs,’ recovered from California mud
Are there any works consumable by a layperson that explore the mathematical probabilities of evolution and genetic diversity?  When you look at it from the perspective of simple combinatorics, nothing seems possible.  A single gene has say 4^300 permutations.  You could devote the entire mass of the known universe iterating on versions of a protein a trillion times per second for a trillion years and not even remotely scratch the surface of possible configurations.