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 as Described by the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Aug 11, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Often, physics and biology appear as different worlds, from a scientist’s point of view. Each discipline has its own language and concepts, and physicists and biologists tend to look at the ...
Time in a bottle: Scientists watch evolution unfold
Oct 18, 2009 |
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A 21-year Michigan State University experiment that distills the essence of evolution in laboratory flasks not only demonstrates natural selection at work, but could lead to biotechnology and medical research ...
Natural selection may not produce the best organisms
Biology /
Jul 18, 2008 |
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"Survival of the fittest" is the catch phrase of evolution by natural selection. While natural selection favors the most fit organisms around, evolutionary biologists have long wondered whether this leads to the best possible ...
Hundreds of Natural-Selection Studies Could be Wrong, Study Demonstrates
Mar 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Penn State and the National Institute of Genetics in Japan have demonstrated that several statistical methods commonly used by biologists to detect natural selection at the molecular ...
Natural selection is not the only process that drives evolution
Biology /
Jan 27, 2009 |
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Why have some of our genes evolved rapidly? It is widely believed that Darwinian natural selection is responsible, but research led by a group at Uppsala University, suggests that a separate neutral (nonadaptive) process ...
Are humans still evolving? Absolutely, says new analysis of long-term survey of human health
Oct 19, 2009 |
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Although advances in medical care have improved standards of living over time, humans aren't entirely sheltered from the forces of natural selection, a new study shows.
New research shows how gene function drives natural selection in important class of genetic elements
Biology /
Dec 10, 2008 |
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Transposons are the Clark Kents of a genome. Apparently mild-mannered and inconsequential but with sudden bursts of activity, these free-floating bits of genetic material have for millions of years been sneaking ...
Texas education board approves science standards (Update)
Mar 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Texas will no longer require educators to teach weaknesses of all scientific theories, including evolution.
How to create less selfish societies?
Feb 06, 2009 |
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(GPEARI, Portugal) -- Cooperation, despite being now considered the third force of evolution, just behind mutation and natural selection, is difficult to explain in the context of an evolutionary process based on competition ...
Robots Reveal Insights into Evolution
Sep 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In an ironic twist to our understanding of life, robots may offer a greater degree of realism for studying some of the intricacies of natural selection and evolution than real organisms offer. ...
Ego City: Cities organized like human brains
Sep 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Cities are organized like brains, and the evolution of cities mirrors the evolution of human and animal brains, according to a new study by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
'Armored' fish study helps strengthen Darwin's natural selection theory
Biology /
Aug 28, 2008 |
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Shedding some genetically induced excess baggage may have helped a tiny fish thrive in freshwater and outsize its marine ancestors, according to a UBC study published today in Science Express.
Birds can dance, really
Apr 30, 2009 |
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Researchers at Harvard University have found that humans aren't the only ones who can groove to a beat -- some other species can dance, too. This capability was previously believed to be specific to humans. ...
Ecologists Say Metabolism Accounts for Why Natural Selection Favors Only Some Species
Biology /
Nov 03, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Why are some species of plants and animals favored by natural selection? And why does natural selection not favor other species similarly?
New 'molecular clock' aids dating of human migration history
Jun 04, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Leeds have devised a more accurate method of dating ancient human migration - even when no corroborating archaeological evidence exists.
