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Nature 461, 1219-1221 (29 October 2009) | doi:10.1038/4611219a; Published online 28 October 2009

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Evolutionary biology: Arrhythmia of tempo and mode

Paul B. Rainey1

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An exercise in experimental evolution using bacteria has been running for more than 20 years and 40,000 generations. The results to date provide a glimpse of a new world, and are cause for both delight and unease.

In his seminal book Tempo and Mode in Evolution1, palaeontologist George Gaylord Simpson argued for the value of distinguishing between the tempo of evolutionary change (the rate) and its mode (the process); moreover, he argued that tempo could be used to infer mode. Simpson's primary interest was the large-scale variations in rate and pattern evident in the fossil record.

  1. Paul B. Rainey is at the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, and the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
    Email: p.b.rainey@massey.ac.nz

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