New approach precisely tracks evolution's footprints in the human genome
Thursday, January 7, 2010 - 14:21
in Biology & Nature
Fossils may provide tantalizing clues to human history but they also lack some vital information, such as revealing which pieces of human DNA have been favored by evolution because they confer beneficial traits - resistance to infection or the ability to digest milk, for example. These signs can only be revealed through genetic studies of modern humans and other related species, though the task has proven difficult.