Final answer:
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection fundamentally changed our understanding of biology, supporting the notion that species evolve over time through beneficial trait adaptations. His ideas, supported by later genetic research, remain central to biological science.
Step-by-step explanation:
Charles Darwin's groundbreaking work laid the foundation for modern understanding of evolution. By introducing the concept of natural selection, Darwin provided a mechanism for how species change over time. Before Darwin, the conventional belief was that species were unchanging and that Earth was relatively young. Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle, which led to his observations of diverse life forms and the fossil record, underpinned his theory that life forms evolve due to random changes in their traits. Those with beneficial traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. Furthermore, Darwin's theory was bolstered by the concurrent but independent work of Alfred Russel Wallace and was also influenced by Charles Lyell's geological findings, suggesting an older Earth conducive to gradual evolution.
Darwin's theories have been upheld and reinforced by subsequent discoveries in genetics and molecular science, emphasizing that evolution is an ongoing process observable even today. Darwin's ideas, expounded in his 1859 publication 'On the Origin of Species', fundamentally altered scientific thinking about the natural world and have withstood the type of scientific scrutiny that leads to widespread acceptance in the scientific community.