natural selection

In biology natural selection refers to the way that indviduals who are more fit or able to cope in their envirnment are more likely to survive to breeding age and bring up offspring successfully (survival of the fitest). This means that their {[genes}} propogate more to the next generation leading to a gradual shift of the population towards a more successful gene pool for the enviornment. In the natural environment this process can happen relatvely quickly, espeically in fast breeding organisms such as insects or disease pathogens. It is one of the processes behind Darwinian evolution, although the latter also requires genetic mutation to allow the gene pool to gradually shift also. These processes are emulated in artifical genetic algorithms.

Used on pages 76, 77, 163, 560