Natural selection is the process by which species adapt to their environment and form a new, separate species. It leads to evolutionary change when individuals with certain characteristics have a greater survival or reproduction rate than other individuals in a population and pass these inheritable genetic characteristics to their offspring. The idea of “survival of the fittest” is a misconception. It is more like “survival of the fittest for the times” and even then the so called “fittest” may not be the one to survive. Many things like disease, climate, geography, resources and predation can all determine what traits get passed on to future generations. It is important to remember that natural selection does not produce a straight line to perfection which is evident because most of life that existed on Earth is extinct. Natural selection can take a long time and can only make improvements on the existing models of life.