Related topics: evolution , charles darwin
Natural selection
hideNatural selection is the process by which heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations. It is a key mechanism of evolution.
The natural genetic variation within a population of organisms means that some individuals will survive and reproduce more successfully than others in their current environment. For example, the peppered moth exists in both light and dark colors in the United Kingdom, but during the industrial revolution many of the trees on which the moths rested became blackened by soot, giving the dark-colored moths an advantage in hiding from predators. This gave dark-colored moths a better chance of surviving to produce dark-colored offspring, and in just a few generations the majority of the moths were dark. Factors which affect reproductive success are also important, an issue which Charles Darwin developed in his ideas on sexual selection.
Natural selection acts on the phenotype, or the observable characteristics of an organism, but the genetic (heritable) basis of any phenotype which gives a reproductive advantage will increase in frequency over the following generations (see allele frequency). Over time, this process can result in adaptations that specialize organisms for particular ecological niches and may eventually result in the emergence of new species. In other words, natural selection is an important process (though not the only process) by which evolution takes place within a population of organisms.
Natural selection is one of the cornerstones of modern biology. The term was introduced by Darwin in his groundbreaking 1859 book On the Origin of Species, in which natural selection was described by analogy to artificial selection, a process by which animals with traits considered desirable by human breeders are systematically favored for reproduction. The concept of natural selection was originally developed in the absence of a valid theory of heredity; at the time of Darwin's writing, nothing was known of modern genetics. The union of traditional Darwinian evolution with subsequent discoveries in classical and molecular genetics is termed the modern evolutionary synthesis. Natural selection remains the primary explanation for adaptive evolution.
For more information about Natural selection, read the full article at
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News tagged with natural selection
Evolution may take giant leaps
Dec 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of thousands of species of plants and animals suggests new species may arise from rare events instead of through an accumulation of small changes made in response to changes in ...
Social scientists build case for 'survival of the kindest'
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (36) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are challenging long-held beliefs that human beings are wired to be selfish. In a wide range of studies, social scientists are amassing ...
Charles Darwin: More than the origin
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Although Charles Darwin is most well-known for his book On the Origin of Species, in which he described the process of natural selection, he greatly contributed to many specific fields within biology. As ...
Article Traces History of Darwinian Medicine
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Despite being a founding principle of modern biology for 150 years, evolutionary theory has played a limited role in the field of medicine. Only in the last 20 years has Darwinian medicine emerged as a discipline ...
Search results for natural selection
New tool in the fight against mosquito-borne disease: A microbial 'mosquito net'
15 hours ago |
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Earlier this year, researchers showed that they could cut the lives of disease-carrying mosquitoes in half by infecting them with a bacterium they took from fruit flies. Now, a new report in the December 24th issue of Cell, ...
Among Apes, Teeth Are Made for the Toughest Times (w/ Video)
Dec 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The teeth of some apes are formed primarily to handle the most stressful times when food is scarce, according to new research performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The findings ...
Researchers discover a way to strengthen proteins
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Proteins, which perform such vital roles in our bodies as building and maintaining tissues and regulating cellular processes, are a finicky lot. In order to work properly, they must be folded just so, yet many proteins readily ...
Review: Barnes & Noble reader is dual-screen mess
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The e-book reading device is the gadget gift of the season. Both Sony and Barnes & Noble have sold out of their new models, and new buyers will have to wait until January for delivery. So why are ...
New molecule identified in DNA damage response
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Evolution places the highest premium on reproduction, natural selection’s only standard for biological success. In the case of replicating cells, life spares no expense to ensure that the ...
Precision breeding creates super potato
Dec 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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The skin is light brown, the meat luscious and yellow: from the outside alone, this new potato looks like any other. But on the inside, it is different. Its cells produce pure amylopectin, a starch used in ...
Why females live longer than males: is it due to the father's sperm?
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Researchers in Japan have found that female mice produced by using genetic material from two mothers but no father live significantly longer than mice with the normal mix of maternal and paternal genes. Their findings provide ...
Ecological speciation by sexual selection on good genes: Is speciation adaptive?
Nov 26, 2009 |
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Darwin suggested that the action of natural selection can produce new species, but 150 years after the publication of his famous book, 'On the Origin of Species', debate still continues on the mechanisms of speciation. New ...
The tall and short of diseases
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Research shows that being taller means a fatter pay check and an increased risk of some cancers.
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