New Study Suggests Evolution Drifts Toward Robustness, Not Randomness
Researchers from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology have published a study in PNAS challenging the traditional view that evolution proceeds randomly when multiple traits offer equal fitness. Using mathematical models, they demonstrate that populations exhibit 'directional drift,' moving toward flatter regions of the fitness landscape where traits are more resistant to mutations, thereby increasing long-term resilience without direct selective pressure.