In this section:
In the cell, the processes of information restructuring are related to different functions, like, for instance, response to environmental stresses, repair of DNA, control of gene expression, and creation of genetic diversity. For our purposes, though, it is only necessary to understand the role they play in evolution, especially how genetic modification is created and how this genetic diversity reflects itself in the numerous protein variants available in the genetic pool of a species.
In nature, the incredible diversity of all organisms, living and extinct, is largely a consequence of the effects of the restructuring processes that take place on the genomes of the organisms, creating a diversity of protein functions. Likewise, in GEP, populations of individuals (computer programs) evolve by developing new abilities and becoming better adapted to the environment due to the genetic modifications accumulated over a certain number of generations. However, thanks to simple mechanisms especially created to prevent mass extinction, in computer systems it is possible to hasten considerably the rate of evolution and make it even faster than the evolution of new strains of virus.
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