[Ice Block]

Yes, most of the things in that article are true, the horror theme aside. For example, 1-4% of the genes in non-Africans are shared with Neanderthals. This supports the Neanderthal Admixture theory, the Multiregional hypothesis, and is even consistent with the Out-of-Africa model.

Originally Posted by NightGale

Don´t know where to start on this one... You´re correct and all but one account, genes do work like that. Just like you said, that´s the principle of evolution: "adaptation", while it does take quite a few generations for a significant change to occur on the gene pool it does not mean that it´s random, in fact there´s not a single thing in the human reproduction that can be truly called random. Nature has put thousand of mechanism that works like the gears of a clock in order to choose the best of the best and cut off what´s unneeded (the thing we call random is that when the final stage of comes only the best of the best is left, so you might as well throw a coin, the one chosen won´t truly change the final result).
When i said "weakened" i meant something simple: if it is true that those characteristics are simply "not expressed" and the genes "not lost"; it´s also true that they don´t simply "express" themselves at need, they are "stored" in the huge vault that is called "Human Genome", a meticulous process that takes quite a few hundred of years to do or reverse. I understand all that and just used the process in a figurative sense to explain my point, it´s true that disregarding time may have been too much of a stretch but well...

It is random. The main driving force of evolution are random mutations. This is the concept of natural selection. There is no meticulous process or gears and whatnot. It's simply survival of the fittest. Beneficial mutations are naturally selected in the sense that an individual who bears a certain mutation gains a higher rate of survival, and thus higher probability to reproduce and pass on that mutation into the next generation. This is the reason why certain types of disease-causing viruses are very hard to suppress. These viruses have unstable genetic material which is very prone to mutations, altering the structure of their protein coats ever so slightly and thus preventing them from being recognized by antibodies. These mutations are either caused by various mutagens, including various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, viral infection or chemicals; or are in the form of spontaneous mutations caused by molecular decay. Thanks to these mutations, certain individuals in a population of viruses or bacteria will survive certain medical treatment and will then go on to breed more of their kind who are then resistant to the treatment they survived. This is what's referred to when new strains of certain pathogens are mentioned in the media.

Furthermore, even the reproductive process itself is full of randomization. For example, in gametogenesis alone, meiosis totally randomizes the chromosomes that are carried by each of your gamete cells. Then, there is also randomization in which specific gamete cells end up pairing in fertilization. This is why each individual, aside from identical twins, is genetically unique. With this, I suggest you review your genetics and science in general, as almost everything in nature is random at the core (quantum mechanics). And then refresh your definition of random while we're at it.

It is true. You don't lose any of your genes. Remember alleles and dominance in basic Mendelian genetics? The difference between genotype and phenotype? For example, in crossing parents AA x Aa (both with phenotype A), you expect your first filial generation to have a spread of AA (A), Aa (A), AA (A), Aa (A). In other words, 50% of the offspring would have the AA genotype, the other 50% will have Aa, and all of these will have the phenotype A. Now, let's say we cross two of the Aa offspring. We get a spread of AA (A), Aa (A), Aa (A), aa (a). Here, we see that there is a 25% chance of the resulting offspring expressing the a phenotype. A more complex version of this (involving many genes and many other contributing factors) is in play for most traits, but the basic gist is that genetic material is conserved within species. For example, in the human genome, more than 98% are non-coding genes, and among this 98% are certain permanently silenced genes (due to certain mutations, including mistakes in replication and translation), which are sometimes referred to as fossil genes. These genes, called pseudogenes, are thought to be major determinants in the random mutations that drive evolution, as they are not subject to natural selection (due to their lack of expression, and thus any minor changes to them will have zero effect on the organism, and will just be copied onto the next generation instead of getting naturally selected, until reaching the point where certain mutations are acquired which result in the activation of the gene). Also, a hundred or even a thousand years is far too small for the effects of evolution in large, complex life such as man to be observed. As a testament, the genetic makeup of our species hasn't changed much since anatomically modern humans first appeared around 200,000 years ago.

Originally Posted by NightGale

And to the point, what i meant with that is something quite simple: practices and knowledge that have become obsolete or have been simplified, are either lost or replaced. In Toaru, the Queen of the Adriatic Sea can´t be replicated, since the rituals required for it´s creation have been either erased or sealed little by little, just like that it´s possible(more than that but...), that many of the "feats of the right hand" had been lost to time and history. Someone said that regardless of them being known or not by Fiamma, he could use them since they´re part of the power that makes the HR, but you can´t drive a train without knowledge and you certainly can´t just say that it´s a "miracle" and that´s why it worked perfectly.
In this series magic is not quite so different from science, both heavily rely on experimentation and fine details to produce results; since that´s the case, although the HR does most of the work, if Fiamma doesn´t have some control over it it may explode in his face, so he won´t risk it just by trying to imitate a random legend.

Nope. Nothing is lost, as everything is stored in Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Every significant ritual or spell and all known indestructible grimoires are stored in Index's head. Index knows about the Queen of the Adriatic (and if her knowledge was lacking, simply observing it for a certain amount of time would be enough to complete that knowledge), and her knowledge can be used to create one if the need arises. Furthermore, the Queen of the Adriatic has already been reconstructed and remodeled by Vento (she was even the one who came up with the Appointed Time of the Rosary spell), which allows her to control it with a new spiritual item in the form of a crucifix that resembles a frozen anchor. You don't seem to understand the power of the written language and its significance to a certain religion that takes everything from a certain book as the law. Yes, magic is scientific in the sense that experimentation is observed, but it is also like science in the sense that knowledge is preserved with utmost care. Nothing is lost to time and history, as Curtana Original demonstrates. And yes, Fiamma can use them because, like I said, any miracle is simply the defeat of an enemy. That's why the only thing he needed to do was to bring out the enemy that must be defeated. Simple, isn't it? He isn't trying to imitate anything. He's simply using its power, and in order to bring out more of its power, he needs to bring out an even greater enemy.

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

In real life he was called "the beast" and in the novels he compares himself to an angry beast.

But what would be his purpose in taking up magic? Since that is what the magic name usually describes. For example, something like The beast who seeks knowledge beyond the Heavens, or The beast who seeks the mind of God.

Originally Posted by Kuroi Hadou

Not that I know of. Well, she did have a cameo in one of the illustrations for Vol. 1 of NT, but that's the only time I've seen her outside of Railgun.

Her first appearance in the novels is as a background character in a color illustration for Volume 15, and the second being the one in New Testament. That Volume 1 character is just some random mob character, since she wasn't even made at that time (note that the Railgun manga was started sometime after Volume 12/13 was finished), and her initial character design (see pic) doesn't resemble it in the slightest: