chance and evolution

[John Grehan]

Doug Yanega wrote:

 Besides which, the
>part of evolution which IS random is the same in dog breeding; new mutants
>arise by chance, NO ONE can design them (yet).

The origin of new mutants as chance may be an assertion rather than a fact. 
Further, if processes such as biased gene conversion are evolutionarily 
signficant (as suggested by some molecular geneticists) then the spread
and establishment of such mutants does not require natural selection,
and is certainly not random.

John Grehan