Any of a variety of heuristic search methods, including GeneticAlgorithm's, EvolutionaryProgramming, GeneticProgramming, and EvolutionStrategies, all of which are designed to take advantage of the basis of biological breeding or evolutionary principles: variation with selection.
See also: GeneticAlgorithms, GeneticProgramming, EvolutionaryProgramming, ArtificialIntelligence