[CuriouslyC]

I should note that studies have demonstrated that bacteria who have been modified not to be able to consume lactose will develop mutations that allow them to consume lactose again much more quickly than would be expected given the number of bacteria, the rate of random mutations and the size of the genome. It has been hypothesized that there is a cellular mechanism to control which portions of DNA are easily mutable, possibly through a combination of chromatin structure, epigenetic modification and changes to the local chemical environment via metabolism.

This mechanism might exist in a scaled up form in humans.

[juitpykyk]

Isn't that what happens in antibody germinal centers?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_hypermutation

[rolph]

bacterial plasmids are a common form of horizontal gene flow between individuals