Originally Posted by genejockey

On a different website, years ag, I used to get into arguments with... let's call them "Non-Darwinians", and they would make declarations like "There are no beneficial mutations!" because of course most known mutations are deleterious. We identify deleterious mutations because they do bad thngs that cause people to go to the doctor, where they are investigated and identified

But how would you identify a beneficial mutation? It could be a mutation that reduces the chance of getting a particular cancer, or that prevents you getting hypertension, or that makes you more resistant resistant to cold viruses, or that makes you a better athlete. Nobody's going to go to the doctor because they DON'T get sick, or because they keep winning. So beneficial mutations are out there, but go unidentified. I guarantee you that everyone in the pro peloton has one or more beneficial mutations relative to the general population. It probably isn't the seme genes in everyone - you can get to the same place by different routes.

So, how could we know which gene out of 30,000 should be altered, and how to alter it - which bases to change, and to what?