Why are we Degenerating?

• A typical bad mutation (loss of one nucleotide) reduces information by only one/three-billionth – making it “near-neutral” and invisible to natural selection

• • Normally we can only measure biological effects that change fitness by about 10%
  • Near-neutrals represent 90-99% of all mutations

• The build-up of these bad mutations leads to decline in biological fitness

• In summary:

• • Worst mutations are selected away
  • Near-neutral mutations accumulate unhindered
  • Minor mutations accumulate at intermediate rates