What is population genetics and how is it put to practical use?

... What is population genetics and how is it put to practical use? All evolutionary changes start with changes within populations (Li 1998). Therefore to gain an understanding about the principles governing evolution we must look at how populations can be subject to evolutionary forces. These forces act upon the genetic variation within a population, and population genetics deals with how evolution drives changes in the genetic structure and variation of populations. However the study of changes in the genetic variation of populations is not unique to evolutionary theory, it is very valuable in disease screening, artificial selection and forensic science to name a few. In this essay I shall describe how population genetics is investigated, from building a null hypothesis model and the reasons for deviation, to the methodology used to put theory into practise and where it is used. Allele Frequency Model Genetic variation is attributable to the existence of

want to read more? →