This scientific article explores the time scale required for evolutionary innovations, focusing on the length of genetic sequences undergoing adaptation. It discusses the distinction between polynomial and exponential time scales in evolutionary processes and introduces a theoretical approach to estimate the time of evolution as a function of sequence length. The study finds that adaptation on many fitness landscapes takes exponential time, leading to a search for mechanisms that allow evolution to work on polynomial time scales. The concept of a 'regeneration process' is proposed as a means to enable evolution to work in polynomial time.
documents/EFTA00611788.pdf
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