Major Evolutionary Shift Observed in Bacteria

[Anacoluthon64]

[T]he experiment stands as proof that evolution does not always lead to the best possible outcome. Instead, a chance event can sometimes open evolutionary doors for one population that remain forever closed to other populations with different histories.

Lenski’s experiment is also yet another poke in the eye for anti-evolutionists, notes Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago. “The thing I like most is it says you can get these complex traits evolving by a combination of unlikely events,” he says. “That’s just what creationists say can’t happen.”

The expected creationist shouts of “No true evolution!” have already begun, one commentator asking for a demo of a bacterium sprouting legs and/or wings.  Maybe one day a species of goalpost will evolve to the point where it starts walking backwards all by itself.  The survival advantage of such a capability should be self-evident.

'Luthon64

[bluegray V]

This I find especially interesting:

...Lenski turned to his freezer, where he had saved samples of each population every 500 generations. These allowed him to replay history from any starting point he chose, by reviving the bacteria and letting evolution "replay" again.