The myriad throng: Human effective population size

The myriad throng: Human effective population size

Economy recapitulates demography? (image source) Iranians count their rials in superunits of the toman, from a Mongol word for ten thousand soldiers. Remarkably, such a…

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Polymorphism I

Polymorphism I

“If you come to any more conclusions about polymorphism, I shd [sic] be very glad to hear the result: it is delightful to have many…

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On polymorphism III: Working with peanuts

On polymorphism III: Working with peanuts

We’re now ready to ask — and answer — the question: how much polymorphism is to be found in a given population? Remember that ‘polymorphism’…

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On polymorphism II: Hard-drinking fruitflies

On polymorphism II: Hard-drinking fruitflies

The last post hinted at how useful it is to compare the amount of genetic variation found in one population to that found in another….

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Second Life

Second Life

New Scientist has some intriguing recent stories on particular fronts of research, including a discussion of the search for so-called ‘shadow life‘ — meaning, essentially,…

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