Evolution and Adaptations

By Frank Huang

clarification: genes are composed of DNA.

Note: The word “adaptation” also refers to the process of evolving to be fitter.

Note: Mutations are inherently random: they can be beneficial, harmful, or neither. The changes in the genetic composition of a population over generations caused by some form of selection, however, is not random. Since mutation rates are relatively low for most genes, it often has to combine with another mechanism of evolution to cause evolution.