New fields of evolutionary study have developed:

• molecular evolution*: analyses the processes and history of change in genes
• evolutionary genomics: is concerned with variation and evolution in multiple genes or even entire genomes
• evolutionary developmental biology: studies how the evolution of developmental process underlies the evolution of morphological features at all levels, from cells to whole organisms.

*Neutral theory of molecular evolution: holds that most of the evolution of DNA sequences occurs by genetic drift rather than by natural selection.