Somatic Hypermutation
This is the logic behind skunkworks teams and separate innovation units.
Somatic hypermutation is deliberately error-prone DNA copying in immune B cells to create antibody diversity targeting novel pathogens. This represents controlled, localized high mutation rates: the immune system increases mutation specifically in antibody-encoding genes when facing new threats, while maintaining low mutation rates elsewhere in the genome. This demonstrates that evolution has generated mechanisms to tune mutation rates contextually - where, when, and how mutations occur.
Business Application of Somatic Hypermutation
Like the immune system's targeted mutation in antibody genes, organizations can create 'innovation zones' with higher experimentation rates while maintaining stability in core operations. This is the logic behind skunkworks teams and separate innovation units.