One more from Molecular Biology and Evolution, this time investigating whether or not diversity seen in 280 bases of mtDNA from 886 people from 27 indigenous Americans is localized amongst populations. Or in other words, is the diversity seen in this short segment of mtDNA random or unique to groups?
The paper, “Native South American Genetic [...]
February 20, 2008
Genetic Structure of Native Americans inferred from diversity in 280 bases of mtDNA
February 20, 2008
Does mtDNA and Y-Chromosome show different signatures of population growth?
About two weeks ago, I blogged on how variation mtDNA was used to reconstruct an idea of Pleistocene population growth. That study was very remarkable because illuminated a large 5 fold increase in South Asian populations about 50,000 years ago. But we haven’t been able to use polymorphisms in autosomal loci to the same. A [...]
February 20, 2008
Does studying boat design show us that culture is subject to natural selection?
The creative PNAS study that Razib pointed out the other day is out, and I’ve read it. It comes from two biologists at Stanford, Deborah Rogers and Paul Ehrlich, who studied the canoe design of 10 Polynesian groups and one Fijian group for functionality and symbolism. The paper, “Natural selection and cultural rates of change,” [...]
