Related papers: Hominin evolution was caused by introgression from…
We consider a population of N individuals, whose dynamics through time is represented by a biparental Moran model with two types: an advantaged type and a disadvantaged type. The advantage is due to a mutation, transmitted in a Mendelian…
Cathaya argyrophylla is an endangered paleoendemic gymnosperm characterized by restricted ecological adaptability and high pathogen susceptibility. To elucidate its genomic architecture and evolutionary history, a de novo chromosome-level…
A hypothesis of the evolution of the genetic code is proposed, the leading mechanism of which is the nucleotide spontaneous damage leading to AT-enrichment of the genome. The hypothesis accounts for stability of the genetic code towards…
Although extensive behavioral changes often exist between closely related animal species, our understanding of the genetic basis underlying the evolution of behavior has remained limited. Here, we propose a new framework to study behavioral…
All genes on the human Y-chromosome were studied using fractal dimension and Shannon entropy. Clear outlier clusters were identified. Among these were 6 sequences that have since been withdrawn as CDSs and 1 additional sequence that is not…
Genome length varies widely among organisms, from compact genomes of prokaryotes to vast and complex genomes of eukaryotes. In this study, we theoretically identify the evolutionary pressures that may have driven this divergence in genome…
Textual analysis of typical microbial genomes reveals that they have the statistical characteristics of a DNA sequence of a much shorter length. This peculiar property supports an evolutionary model in which a genome evolves by random…
We explore the connection between evolution and large-deviation theory. To do so, we study evolutionary dynamics in which individuals experience mutations, reproduction, and selection using variants of the Moran model. We show that, in the…
Evolution of genetic code is studied as the change in the choice of enzymes that are used to synthesize amino acids from the genetic information of nucleic acids. We propose the following theory: the differentiation of physiological states…
We introduce a simple model for DNA evolution. Using the method of Peng et al.$^1$, we investigate the fractal properties of the system. For small chains and chains of intermediate size we find a fractal exponent that indicates the…
The speed and transformative power of human cultural evolution is evident from the change it has wrought on our planet. This chapter proposes a human computation program aimed at (1) distinguishing algorithmic from non-algorithmic…
We critically examine the evidence for the idea that encephalization quotients increase with time. We find that human-like intelligence is not a convergent feature of evolution. Implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence…
The motions of comets and neutron stars have been integrated over five billion years in the Galactic potential to determine a gamma-ray burst distribution, presuming that bursts are the result of interactions between these two families of…
Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) populated Siberia, Beringia, and North America during the Pleistocene and early Holocene. Recent breakthroughs in ancient DNA sequencing have allowed for complete genome sequencing for two specimens…
Recent genetic studies and whole-genome sequencing projects have greatly improved our understanding of human variation and clinically actionable genetic information. Smaller ethnic populations, however, remain underrepresented in both…
Our understanding of the evolutionary process has gone a long way since the publication, 150 years ago, of "On the origin of species" by Charles R. Darwin. The XXth Century witnessed great efforts to embrace replication, mutation, and…
Eukaryote genomes contain excessively introns, inter-genic and other non-genic sequences that appear to have no vital functional role or phenotype manifestation. Their existence, a long-standing puzzle, is viewed from the principle of…
An extrapolation of the genetic complexity of organisms to earlier times suggests that life began before the Earth was formed. Life may have started from systems with single heritable elements that are functionally equivalent to a…
Several researchers have previously identified a severe climatic upheaval in tropical North Africa that began just over 4000 years ago and lasted for about three centuries. The upheaval is known to have occurred shortly after a volcanic…
Experimental evolution has yielded surprising insights into human history and evolution by shedding light on the roles of chance and contingency in history and evolution, and on the deep evolutionary roots of cooperation, conflict and kin…