diff --git a/src/eva2/gui/BeanInspector.java b/src/eva2/gui/BeanInspector.java
index 449a52e9..312217b6 100644
--- a/src/eva2/gui/BeanInspector.java
+++ b/src/eva2/gui/BeanInspector.java
@@ -614,6 +614,24 @@ public class BeanInspector {
 		return false;
 	}
 	
+	/**
+	 * Get the primitive class of a Java primitive encapsulation, or null if not applicable.
+	 * E.g., returns int for Integer, long for Long, Boolean for Boolean etc.
+	 * 
+	 * @param cls
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public static Class getJavaPrimitive(Class<?> cls) {
+		if (cls.isPrimitive()) return cls;
+		if (cls == Double.class) return double.class;
+		else if (cls == Integer.class) return int.class;
+		else if (cls == Boolean.class) return Boolean.class;
+		else if (cls == Byte.class) return byte.class;
+		else if (cls == Short.class) return short.class;
+		else if (cls == Long.class) return long.class;
+		else if (cls == Float.class) return float.class;
+		return null;
+	}
 	/**
 	 * Try to convert an object to a destination type, especially for primitive types (int, double etc.
 	 * but also Integer, Double etc.).
diff --git a/src/eva2/gui/PropertyEditorProvider.java b/src/eva2/gui/PropertyEditorProvider.java
index a12c7618..83c1d2c4 100644
--- a/src/eva2/gui/PropertyEditorProvider.java
+++ b/src/eva2/gui/PropertyEditorProvider.java
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 package eva2.gui;
 
-import java.awt.Color;
 import java.beans.PropertyDescriptor;
 import java.beans.PropertyEditor;
 import java.beans.PropertyEditorManager;
@@ -108,6 +107,11 @@ public class PropertyEditorProvider {
 	        
 	        if (editor == null) editor = PropertyEditorManager.findEditor(type);
 	        if (TRACE)  System.out.println((editor == null ) ? "No editor from PEM by type" : ("Found " + editor.getClass()));
+	        
+	        if (editor == null && (BeanInspector.isJavaPrimitive(value.getClass()))) {
+	        	Class<?> prim = BeanInspector.getJavaPrimitive(value.getClass());
+	        	if (prim!=null) editor = PropertyEditorManager.findEditor(prim);
+	        }
 	        if ((editor == null) && useDefaultGOE ) {
 	        	if (type.isArray()) editor = new GenericArrayEditor();
 	        	else if (type.isEnum()) editor = new EnumEditor();
diff --git a/src/eva2/gui/PropertySheetPanel.java b/src/eva2/gui/PropertySheetPanel.java
index fe24022b..18351af0 100644
--- a/src/eva2/gui/PropertySheetPanel.java
+++ b/src/eva2/gui/PropertySheetPanel.java
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ public class PropertySheetPanel extends JPanel implements PropertyChangeListener
         int methsFound = 0; // dont loop too long, so count until all found
         // unhide all properties
         // TODO this may be superfluous?
-        boolean[] hideStateBackup = GenericObjectEditor.setHideAllProperties(m_Target.getClass(), false); 
+//        boolean[] hideStateBackup = GenericObjectEditor.setHideAllProperties(m_Target.getClass(), false); 
 //        System.out.println("hide stats were: " + BeanInspector.toString(hideStateBackup));
         for (int i = 0; i < m_Methods.length; i++) {
             String name = m_Methods[i].getDisplayName();
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ public class PropertySheetPanel extends JPanel implements PropertyChangeListener
             if (methsFound == 3) break; // small speed-up
         } // end for (int i = 0; i < m_Methods.length; i++) {
         // restore hide states of all properties
-        GenericObjectEditor.setHideProperties(m_Target.getClass(), hideStateBackup);
+//        GenericObjectEditor.setHideProperties(m_Target.getClass(), hideStateBackup);
         
         // Now lets search for the individual properties, their
         // values, views and editors...
diff --git a/src/eva2/server/go/populations/Population.java b/src/eva2/server/go/populations/Population.java
index 0c0221a1..329c7c57 100644
--- a/src/eva2/server/go/populations/Population.java
+++ b/src/eva2/server/go/populations/Population.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import eva2.server.go.PopulationInterface;
 import eva2.server.go.individuals.AbstractEAIndividual;
 import eva2.server.go.individuals.AbstractEAIndividualComparator;
 import eva2.server.go.individuals.InterfaceDataTypeDouble;
+import eva2.server.go.individuals.InterfaceGAIndividual;
 import eva2.server.go.operators.distancemetric.EuclideanMetric;
 import eva2.server.go.operators.distancemetric.InterfaceDistanceMetric;
 import eva2.server.go.operators.distancemetric.PhenotypeMetric;
@@ -55,6 +56,8 @@ public class Population extends ArrayList implements PopulationInterface, Clonea
     protected Population    m_Archive       = null;
     PopulationInitMethod initMethod = PopulationInitMethod.individualDefault;
 	private double[] seedPos = new double[10];
+	private Pair<Integer,Integer> seedCardinality=new Pair<Integer,Integer>(5,1);
+
 	private double aroundDist=0.1;
 	transient private ArrayList<InterfacePopulationChangedEventListener> listeners = null;
     // the evaluation interval at which listeners are notified
@@ -173,6 +176,7 @@ public class Population extends ArrayList implements PopulationInterface, Clonea
         this.notifyEvalInterval = population.notifyEvalInterval;
         this.initMethod			= population.initMethod;
     	this.aroundDist			= population.aroundDist;
+    	this.seedCardinality	= population.seedCardinality.clone();
         if (population.seedPos!=null) this.seedPos = population.seedPos.clone();
 //        this.m_Listener			= population.m_Listener;
         if (population.listeners != null) this.listeners			= (ArrayList<InterfacePopulationChangedEventListener>)population.listeners.clone();
@@ -287,6 +291,9 @@ public class Population extends ArrayList implements PopulationInterface, Clonea
         		PostProcess.createPopInSubRange(this, aroundDist, this.getTargetSize(), template);
         	} else System.err.println("Warning, skipping seed initialization: too small individual seed!");
         	break;
+        case binCardinality:
+        	createBinCardinality(this, true, seedCardinality.head(), seedCardinality.tail());
+        	break;
         }
         firePropertyChangedEvent(Population.populationInitialized);
     }
@@ -356,9 +363,7 @@ public class Population extends ArrayList implements PopulationInterface, Clonea
     		return;
     	}
     	AbstractEAIndividual template = pop.getEAIndividual(0);
-    	if (fillPop && (pop.size()<pop.getTargetSize())) {
-    		for (int i=pop.size(); i<pop.getTargetSize(); i++) pop.add((AbstractEAIndividual)template.clone());
-    	}
+    	if (fillPop) pop.fill(template);
     	if (template instanceof InterfaceDataTypeDouble) {
     		double[][] range = ((InterfaceDataTypeDouble)template).getDoubleRange();
 //    		Population pop = new Population(popSize);
@@ -372,6 +377,53 @@ public class Population extends ArrayList implements PopulationInterface, Clonea
     	}
     }
     
+    /**
+     * Initialize a population of GA individuals with a certain cardinality and possibly variation.
+     * At least one template individual must be contained in the population. All individuals must have
+     * binary genotypes. The bitsets are then initialized with the given cardinality (random no. bits set)
+     * and possibly gaussian variation defined by std.dev. which is truncated at zero and the genotype length.
+     *  
+     * @param pop the population instance
+     * @param fillPop if true, fill the population up to the target size
+     * @param cardinality an integer giving the number of (random) bits to set
+     * @param stdDev standard deviation of the cardinality variation (can be zero to fix the cardinality)
+     * @return
+     */     
+    public static void createBinCardinality(Population pop, boolean fillPop, int cardinality, int stdDev) {
+    	if (pop.size()<=0) {
+    		System.err.println("createBinCardinality needs at least one template individual in the population");
+    		return;
+    	}
+    	AbstractEAIndividual template = pop.getEAIndividual(0);
+    	if (fillPop) pop.fill(template);
+    	if (template instanceof InterfaceGAIndividual) {
+//    		InterfaceGAIndividual gaIndy = (InterfaceGAIndividual)template;
+    		for (int i=0; i<pop.size(); i++) {
+    			InterfaceGAIndividual gaIndy = (InterfaceGAIndividual)pop.getEAIndividual(i);
+    			int curCard = cardinality;
+    			if (stdDev>0) curCard += (int)Math.round(RNG.gaussianDouble((double)stdDev));
+    			curCard=Math.max(0, Math.min(curCard, gaIndy.getGenotypeLength()));
+//    			System.out.println("Current cardinality: " + curCard);
+    			gaIndy.SetBGenotype(RNG.randomBitSet(curCard, gaIndy.getGenotypeLength()));
+//    			System.out.println(pop.getEAIndividual(i));
+    		}
+    	} else {
+    		System.err.println("Error: InterfaceGAIndividual required for binary cardinality initialization!");
+    	}
+    }
+    
+    /**
+     * Fill the population up to the target size with clones of a template individual.
+     * 
+     * @param template	a template individual used to fill the population
+     */
+    public void fill(AbstractEAIndividual template) {
+    	if (this.size()<this.getTargetSize()) {
+    		for (int i=this.size(); i<this.getTargetSize(); i++) {
+    			this.add((AbstractEAIndividual)template.clone());
+    		}
+    	}
+    }
     /**
      * Activate or deactivate the history tracking, which stores the best individual in every
      * generation in the incrGeneration() method.
@@ -2139,6 +2191,7 @@ public class Population extends ArrayList implements PopulationInterface, Clonea
 		this.initMethod = initMethod;
 		GenericObjectEditor.setShowProperty(this.getClass(), "initAround", initMethod==PopulationInitMethod.aroundSeed);
 		GenericObjectEditor.setShowProperty(this.getClass(), "initPos", initMethod==PopulationInitMethod.aroundSeed);
+		GenericObjectEditor.setShowProperty(this.getClass(), "seedCardinality", initMethod==PopulationInitMethod.binCardinality);
 	}
 	
 	public String initMethodTipText() {
@@ -2328,6 +2381,16 @@ public class Population extends ArrayList implements PopulationInterface, Clonea
     	return (bestIndy==null) ? null : (AbstractEAIndividual)bestIndy.clone();
 	}
 
+	public Pair<Integer, Integer> getSeedCardinality() {
+		return seedCardinality;
+	}
+	public void setSeedCardinality(Pair<Integer, Integer> seedCardinality) {
+		this.seedCardinality = seedCardinality;
+	}
+	public String seedCardinalityTipText() {
+		return "The initial cardinality for binary genotype individuals, given as pair of mean and std.dev.";
+	}
+    
 //	/**
 //	 * Mark the population at the current state as evaluated. Changes to the modCount or hashes of individuals
 //	 * will invalidate the mark.
diff --git a/src/eva2/server/go/populations/PopulationInitMethod.java b/src/eva2/server/go/populations/PopulationInitMethod.java
index 8852e849..4cda571c 100644
--- a/src/eva2/server/go/populations/PopulationInitMethod.java
+++ b/src/eva2/server/go/populations/PopulationInitMethod.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 package eva2.server.go.populations;
 
 public enum PopulationInitMethod {
-	individualDefault, randomLatinHypercube, aroundSeed;
+	individualDefault, randomLatinHypercube, aroundSeed, binCardinality;
 }
diff --git a/src/eva2/tools/Pair.java b/src/eva2/tools/Pair.java
index eb4d4e64..0260537d 100644
--- a/src/eva2/tools/Pair.java
+++ b/src/eva2/tools/Pair.java
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ public class Pair<S, T> implements Serializable {
 		this.tail = tail;
 	}
 
+	public Pair() {
+	}
 	/**
 	 * 
 	 * @return
@@ -68,7 +70,19 @@ public class Pair<S, T> implements Serializable {
 	public S head() {
 		return head;
 	}
-
+	
+	/**
+	 * 
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public S getHead() {
+		return head;
+	}
+	
+	public String headTipText() {
+		return "First pair entry";
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * 
 	 * @return
@@ -77,6 +91,14 @@ public class Pair<S, T> implements Serializable {
 		return tail;
 	}
 
+	public T getTail() {
+		return tail;
+	}
+	
+	public String tailTipText() {
+		return "Last pair entry";
+	}
+	
 	/*
 	 * (non-Javadoc)
 	 * 
@@ -87,6 +109,10 @@ public class Pair<S, T> implements Serializable {
 		return "(" + head.toString() + "," + tail.toString() + ")";
 	}
 
+	public String getName() {
+		return this.toString();
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * 
 	 * @param head
diff --git a/src/eva2/tools/math/RNG.java b/src/eva2/tools/math/RNG.java
index 24d59f87..7f121ce3 100644
--- a/src/eva2/tools/math/RNG.java
+++ b/src/eva2/tools/math/RNG.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package eva2.tools.math;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.BitSet;
 import java.util.Random;
 
 
@@ -98,32 +99,6 @@ public class RNG {
 		return result;
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * This method returns a random permutation of n int values
-	 * 
-	 * @param length
-	 *            The number of int values
-	 * @return The permutation [0-length-1]
-	 */
-	public static int[] randomPermutation(int length) {
-		boolean[] validList = new boolean[length];
-		int[] result = new int[length];
-		int index;
-		for (int i = 0; i < validList.length; i++)
-			validList[i] = true;
-		for (int i = 0; i < result.length; i++) {
-			index = randomInt(0, length - 1);
-			while (!validList[index]) {
-				index++;
-				if (index == length)
-					index = 0;
-			}
-			validList[index] = false;
-			result[i] = index;
-		}
-		return result;
-	}
-
 	/**
 	 * This method returns a random permutation of n int values
 	 * 
@@ -310,6 +285,29 @@ public class RNG {
 		return randomInt();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Create a random bitset with given cardinality and lengths, 
+	 */
+	public static BitSet randomBitSet(int cardinality, int length) {
+		BitSet bs = new BitSet(length);
+		int[] perm = randomPerm(length);
+		for (int i=0; i<cardinality; i++) {
+			bs.set(perm[i]);
+		}
+		return bs;
+	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * Create a random bitset with a given probability of 1 per bit. 
+	 */
+	public static BitSet randomBitSet(double pSet, int length) {
+		BitSet bs = new BitSet(length);
+		for (int i=0; i<length; i++) {
+			if (flipCoin(pSet)) bs.set(i);
+		}
+		return bs;
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * Returns true with probability p.
 	 *