dna

oh yeah. and the biggest thing about diamond that bugged was that he tells people without hesitation that the mutation rate for DNA is like a set clock, that it consistently changed at a set pace over time.
whereas this is helpful in theory, it doesn't seem to be the case.
mutation is random, and although mutations when DNA is transcribed are bound to happen now and then, there is no set pattern to it.
beside regular crossing over and all that shit, environment seems to have a lot to do with mutation. if environmental conditions are stagnant, mutations may occur, but they may not really affect the animal, and if it does in any inhibitory manner, natural selection will most likely weed it out.

but maybe he's just talking about DNA fuck-ups. like i mentioned before. transcribing accidents. i wonder if there is a set pattern for that.
with something at work you don't seem to fuck up on it 3 times a day everyday, do you? doubtful. maybe one here, five there. does it average out to something though? but with something so random its hard to gauge. that's kind why it seems like there is no 'mutation clock'.

sorry. i tried to keep that short.