[2] At Cornell, Sanford and colleagues developed the "Biolistic Particle Delivery System" or so-called "gene gun".

In 1998 he retired on the proceeds from the sale of his biotech companies and continued at Cornell as a courtesy associate professor.

[6][7] In it, he claims that natural selection's being the cause of biological evolution (which he calls the primary axiom) "is essentially indefensible".

[9] According to Sanford, Kimura's curve shows that most mutations have a near-neutral effect, and are furthermore slightly deleterious.

[10]: 128 Additionally, the selective cost is considered too high to override genetic drift and noise.

Based on his research, Sanford holds that the human genome is deteriorating, and therefore could not have evolved through a process of mutation and selection as specified by the modern evolutionary synthesis.

An advocate of intelligent design, Sanford testified in 2005 in the Kansas evolution hearings on behalf of intelligent design, during which he denied the principle of common descent and "humbly offered... that we were created by a special creation, by God".