$$(1 + 0.00005)^{n} = 80{,}129{,}540$$

Equation 2 · Evolutionary Biology

One Gene, Forty Eyes: What Evo-Devo Did to the Convergence Story

This equation states an equality: the expressions on both sides have the same value under the article’s assumptions.

Compounding that per-generation rate to reach the full 1,829 steps of one-percent change — equivalent to a single structure lengthening by a factor of just over eighty million — requires solving: $(1 + 0.00005)^{n} = 80{,}129{,}540$. which gives n $\approx$ 363{,}992 generations [ 4 ] . Assuming a generation time of one year, common for small and medium-sized aquatic animals, the authors state the headline result directly: a camera eye could evolve from a light-sensitive patch in less than 364,000 years [ 4 ] . Measured against a fossil record that places the first animal eyes at roughly the early Cambrian, about 550 million years ago, that is short enough for the transformation to have run more than fifteen…

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