the position of an adverbial phrase

This is an interesting problem. Most Americans will say that the first sentence is clearer because the insertion of the adverbial phrase 'since its emergence' does not interupt the flow of thought. But, in reality, the second sentence is more correct gramatically. In the first sentence, the referent of the phrase is ambiguous. One might legitimately ask whether the phrase refers to 'the idea of evolution' or 'biological sciences,' since it comes right after those words. In the second sentence there is no such ambiguity. (I would suggest, however, using commas is the second sentence to separate the phrase from the rest of the sentence.)

Good morning, Neo. The basic rule here is one of clarity. Place the modifying word, phrase or clause near the word that it modifies. In this case, "since its emergence" modifies "the idea of evolution", so I would structure the sentence to read: Since its emergence, the idea of evolution .....etc.

Andrew beat me to it. Mornin' Andy.

I was gonna say what Letty said. "Since it's emergence, the idea of evolution....

Hi, Letty, Lash.

hi Andre, Letty, and Lash, glad to know you here and thank you for your help.

They can all be correct, but in order of best form:

#1 Letty's version

#2 Your 1st version (Neo)

#3 Your 2nd version, although you should put commas around it in this case