Changes

Natural selection is a process that causes heritable traits that are helpful for survival and reproduction to become more common, and harmful traits to become rarer. This occurs because organisms with advantageous traits pass on more copies of these traits to the next generation. The measurement of selection on correlated characters (Evolution, volume 37  Over many generations, [[adaptation]]s occur through a combination of successive, small, random changes in traits, and natural selection of those variants best-suited for their environment.) [http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_14] In contrast, [[genetic drift]] produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population. Genetic drift arises from the element of chance involved in which individuals survive and reproduce.

Natural selection is a process that causes heritable traits that are helpful for survival and reproduction to become more common, and harmful traits to become rarer. This occurs because organisms with advantageous traits pass on more copies of these traits to the next generation. The measurement of selection on correlated characters (Evolution, volume 37  Over many generations, [[adaptation]]s occur through a combination of successive, small, random changes in traits, and natural selection of those variants best-suited for their environment.) [http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_14] In contrast, [[genetic drift]] produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population. Genetic drift arises from the element of chance involved in which individuals survive and reproduce.

<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Evolution''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Evolution this link].</center>

<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Evolution''''', follow [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Evolution this link].</center>

One definition of a [[species]] is a group of organisms that can reproduce with one another and produce fertile offspring. However, when a species is separated into populations that are [[reproductive isolation|prevented from interbreeding]], mutations, genetic drift, and the selection of novel traits cause the accumulation of differences over generations and the emergence of [[speciation|new species]]. Stephen Gould, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, Belknap Press, ISBN 0-674-00613-5 . The similarities between organisms suggest that all known species are [[common descent|descended from a common ancestor]] (or ancestral gene pool) through this process of gradual divergence. {Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolution, Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts,  ISBN 0-87893-187-2 )

One definition of a [[species]] is a group of organisms that can reproduce with one another and produce fertile offspring. However, when a species is separated into populations that are [[reproductive isolation|prevented from interbreeding]], mutations, genetic drift, and the selection of novel traits cause the accumulation of differences over generations and the emergence of [[speciation|new species]]. Stephen Gould, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, Belknap Press, ISBN 0-674-00613-5 . The similarities between organisms suggest that all known species are [[common descent|descended from a common ancestor]] (or ancestral gene pool) through this process of gradual divergence. {Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolution, Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts,  ISBN 0-87893-187-2 )

==Social and cultural views==

==Social and cultural views==

(Note: see Michael Ruse article [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Evolution_and_Religion%2C_M._Ruse on Evolution])

(Note: see Michael Ruse article [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Evolution_and_Religion%2C_M._Ruse on Evolution])

Even before the publication of ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', the idea that life had evolved was a source of debate and evolution is still a contentious concept. Debate has generally centered on the philosophical, social and religious implications of evolution, not on the science itself; the proposition that biological evolution occurs through the mechanism of natural selection is standard in the [[scientific literature]]. For an overview of the philosophical, religious, and cosmological controversies, see:  

Even before the publication of ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', the idea that life had evolved was a source of debate and evolution is still a contentious concept. Debate has generally centered on the philosophical, social and religious implications of evolution, not on the science itself; the proposition that biological evolution occurs through the mechanism of natural selection is standard in the [[scientific literature]]. For an overview of the philosophical, religious, and cosmological controversies, see: