[SunkenCiv]

Feathers did not originate for flight but may have helped insulate or waterproof dinosaurs before helping birds fly. (Credit: © EcoView / Fotolia)

[gorush]

Ain’t life grand? We are products of chemistry and mutations. Happiness occurs between some people’s ears and not between the ears of others. I am lucky enough to have happiness occur. Granted, I do work at providing an environment where happiness flourishes.

[DaveyB]

...it becomes difficult to distinguish adaptation from exaptation...when we have inexplicably ruled out design and creation. Don't ask us why, we just have and called it science - you might not understand.

[1010RD]

What are the odds of developing a genetic Swiss Army Knife so dynamic that it overcomes the Law of Entropy and creates the most intelligent, adaptable being the universe knows?

[exDemMom]

Exactly how new traits emerge is a question that has long puzzled evolutionary biologists. While some adaptations develop to address a specific need, others (called "exaptations") develop as a by-product of another feature with minor or no function, and may acquire more or greater uses later...

It would be wonderful if the writer of this article would have spent a little more time trying to get the science correct.

Evolutionary biologists are *NOT* trying to figure out how evolution occurs. They may be trying to work out tiny details, but the mechanisms are known. It is well-known that mutations are random, evolution proceeds by genetic drift, and speciation occurs when a population is split, causing two different groups that genetically drift in two directions and eventually become two different species.

Frankly, I'm disappointed that the editors of ScienceDaily didn't vet this article a little better. Scientific concepts can be simplified without making them inaccurate.