by Richard William Nelson | Jan 20, 2026
Adaptation is one of the five principles of natural selection introduced by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. The long-necked giraffe once served as a popular example of adaptation. Darwin explained –
“The structure of each part of each species, for whatever purpose it may serve, is the sum of many inherited changes, through which the species has passed during its successive adaptations.”
Two twentieth-century contributors, Ernst Mayr and Yuri Filipchenko, however, developed our modern understanding of adaptation in Earth’s biosphere.
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by Richard William Nelson | Aug 20, 2025
Time is the fourth principle driving Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, “by means of natural selection.” As with the other four principles, time—specifically, the timeframes of Earth’s history—challenges Darwin’s theory of “slight, successive” changes.
The theory of natural selection is contingent on extended periods of time. In The Origin of Species, Darwin wrote –
“I do believe that natural selection will generally act very slowly, only at long intervals of time.”
The evolution of biological timeframes offers fascinating insights into the history of evolutionary theories. “Timeframes” are interchangeable with modern concepts of “timelines” and “timescales.”
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by Richard William Nelson | Feb 19, 2025
Time is one of the five principles of natural selection introduced by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. Darwin viewed long periods as essential for the theory of natural selection to even work, writing –
“I do believe that natural selection will generally act very slowly, only at long intervals of time.”
Estimates of Earth’s “long intervals of time” since the nineteenth century have increased exponentially. At the time, most popular estimates were on the order of several hundred million years.
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by Richard William Nelson | Sep 7, 2024
Selection is one of the five principles of natural selection introduced by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. Darwin wrote –
“Over all these causes of Change I am convinced that the accumulative action of Selection, whether applied methodically and more quickly, or unconsciously and more slowly, but more efficiently, is by far the predominant Power.”
To explain selection, Darwin drew a parallel between a breeder’s selection process and natural selection, using pigeon breeding (pictured above) as one example. At the time, breeding pigeons was a prestigious pastime for the elite.
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by Richard William Nelson | Jul 13, 2023
The core measure of evolution centers on the concept of species, the main character of evolution. The centrality of the concept is highlighted in the title of Charles Darwin’s bestseller —
“On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”
One of modern biology’s principal functions includes the naming, grouping, and defining of species. However, exploring the history of the term opens a fascinating window into the checkered history of Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
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by Richard William Nelson | Jan 3, 2023
Mendel rescued Darwin’s theory of natural selection early in the twentieth century – to a point.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin’s influence had continued to deteriorate, stemming from his obsolete theory of inheritance.
In the search for a scientifically valid theory, scientists, early in the twentieth century, rediscovered Gregor Mendel’s genetic inheritance theory, which had been published thirty years earlier.
Mendel’s theory delivered what Darwin missed – a scientifically valid theory of inheritance capable of driving evolution.
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by Richard William Nelson | Nov 8, 2022
Inheritance is one of the five principles of natural selection introduced by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. While Darwin knew that inheritance plays a crucial role in natural selection, he was conflicted over how it works, noting –
“The laws governing inheritance are for the most part unknown.”
Niles Eldredge, of the American Museum of Natural History, introduced the V.I.S.T.A. framework to codify the principles of Darwin’s theory. Encapsulating Darwin’s five structural principles of natural selection are variation, inheritance, selection, time, and adaptation.
In 1837, nearly twenty years before publishing The Origin of Species, Darwin drew his first sketch linking inheritance to speciation (pictured left).
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by Richard William Nelson | Aug 17, 2022
Variation is one of the five principles of natural selection introduced by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. Darwin wrote –
“Natural Selection acts exclusively by the preservation and accumulation of variations,”
Niles Eldredge, of the American Museum of Natural History, introduced the V.I.S.T.A. framework to codify the principles of Darwin’s theory. Encapsulating Darwin’s five structural principles of natural selection are variation, inheritance, selection, time, and adaptation.
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by Richard William Nelson | May 27, 2022
Logic and science play crucial roles in understanding how nature works. Importantly, however, there are distinct types of logic and methods in science. Selecting the appropriate type of logic and science is crucial for developing scientifically valid explanations.
Charles Darwin applied various logic and scientific methods in his life-long quest to explain how Earth’s biosphere works. The story of his quest is fascinating, giving insight into how the interplay of logic and science still influences modern evolution research.
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by Richard William Nelson | Jan 13, 2022
Three years into the pandemic, the origin of COVID-19 is still controversial. Two leading theories are under investigation: natural selection process or genetically engineered – each with vastly different implications. The phylogenetics of coronaviruses is the key to the COVID-19 origin dilemma and gaining insights into the theory of evolution.
Coronaviruses are RNA, not DNA viruses. RNA viruses are associated with causing the common cold, influenza, mumps, and measles; coronaviruses in humans can cause respiratory tract infections ranging from no symptoms, mild symptoms to a cytokine storm resulting in organ failure and death in humans.
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Adaptation is one of the five principles of natural selection introduced by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. The long-necked giraffe once served as a popular example of adaptation. Darwin explained –
Mendel rescued Darwin’s theory of 
Three years into the pandemic, the origin of 