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The principles of natural selection have inspired a variety of computational techniques, such as "soft" artificial life, that simulate selective processes and can be highly efficient in 'adapting' entities to an environment defined by a specified fitness function. [132]
Spencer's second book, Principles of Psychology, published in 1855, explored a physiological basis for psychology, and was the fruit of his friendship with Evans and Lewes. The book was founded on his fundamental assumption that the human mind is subject to natural laws and that these can be discovered within the framework of general biology ...
Darwinism subsequently referred to the specific concepts of natural selection, the Weismann barrier, or the central dogma of molecular biology. [2] Though the term usually refers strictly to biological evolution, creationists have appropriated it to refer to the origin of life or to cosmic evolution, that are distinct to biological evolution, [3] and therefore consider it to be the belief and ...
Evolution by natural selection is the process by which traits that enhance survival and reproduction become more common in successive generations of a population. It embodies three principles: [7] Variation exists within populations of organisms with respect to morphology, physiology and behaviour (phenotypic variation).
Artificial selection – Breeding used to develop desired characteristics; Natural selection – Mechanism of evolution by differential survival and reproduction of individuals Sexual selection – Mode of natural selection involving the choosing of and competition for mates; Mutation – Alteration in the nucleotide sequence of a genome
A unit of selection is a biological entity within the hierarchy of biological organization (for example, an entity such as: a self-replicating molecule, a gene, a cell, an organism, a group, or a species) that is subject to natural selection. There is debate among evolutionary biologists about the extent to which evolution has been shaped by ...
The American William E. Castle (1903) showed that without selection, the genotype frequencies would remain stable. [11] Karl Pearson (1903) found one equilibrium position with values of p = q = 0.5. [12] Reginald Punnett, unable to counter Yule's point, introduced the problem to G. H. Hardy, a British mathematician, with whom he played cricket.
Life history theory draws on an evolutionary foundation, and studies the effects of natural selection on organisms, both throughout their lifetime and across generations. [8] It also uses measures of evolutionary fitness to determine if organisms are able to maximize or optimize this fitness, [ 9 ] by allocating resources to a range of ...