Charles Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist who was best known for his contributions to science during the mid-1800s, theorized that over time individual species among varying habitats experience a cycle of genetic mutations. These cycles of genetic mutations caused a change and variation within a population of species through “survival of the fittest” - leading to the inevitable struggle to exist. Within the struggle to exist, those that were able to defy their odds and withstand the variable climates outlived those that were unable to and went on to produce more like-minded offspring that were equipped with a successful variation of genes. These like-minded offspring inherited traits that helped them to evolve, survive, reproduce, and supply even more successful traits for future generations to come. Then, as new genetic modifications surfaced over time as a byproduct of an ever-changing environment, they were selectively chosen and either added to or used to replace previous successful variations - this chain of events is known as a “natural selection”. …show more content…
Charles Darwin believed that in any population, individuals tend to resemble their parents through inheritance. Although we may not be able to tell them apart, all species have slight differences that help to distinguish them from one another. Typically, if the offspring of an individual acquire their parent's qualities, this guarantees certain parts of variety that will persevere; for instance, fit people will deliver fit offspring, and unfit people will not produce fit offspring for no obvious reason simply because they lack the trait to naturally be fit in the first place. As Darwin put it, “…if man can by patience select variations useful to him, why, under changing and complex conditions of life, should not variations useful to nature's living products often arise, and be preserved or