<unk> , also referred to as purifying<unk> , is a type of natural<unk>  in which genetic diversity decreases as the population stabilizes on a particular trait value. Put another way, extreme values of the character are selected against. This is probably the most common mechanism of action for natural<unk> .
A classic example of this is human birth weight. Babies of low weight lose heat more quickly and get ill from infectious disease more easily, whereas babies of large body weight are more difficult to deliver through the pelvis. However, the recent improvements in human nutrition in developed countries has led to rising rates of caesarean sections, since babies are routinely out-growing the female reproductive tract.<unk>  operates most of the time in most populations.  This type of<unk>  acts to prevent divergence of form and function.  In this way, the anatomy of some organisms, such as sharks and ferns, has remained largely unchanged for millions of years.<unk>  can sometimes be detected by measuring the fitness of the range of different phenotypes by various direct measures, but it can also be detected by a variety of tests of molecular sequence data, such as Ka/Ks ratios, changes in allele frequency distributions, and the McDonald Kreitman test.
Stabilizing selection
Carrier generation and recombination
Allosteric regulation
Self-replication
Deconvolution
Mitotic crossover
Isothermal process
Transactivation