Can gene frequencies change in the absence of selection? Why or why not?
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Answer: Gene frequencies do change in the absence of selection. Genetic drift is a random process through which gene frequencies change. By chance, some members of a population will have more offspring than others, while others members may be killed or inhibited by CHANCE, not selection. An example is the random selection of very few cells from one test tube culture to another test tube. Which cells are transferred will affect which genes are passed on to offspring, but the cells transferred were random and unrelated to the fitness of the cells. Thus gene frequencies can change (drift) randomly over time even when there is no selection on that particular gene. Although genetic drift is separate from selection, it is still an important part of evolution.
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