population genetics
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Only 1,280 Reproductive Ancestors of Humans Once Roamed Earth, Gene Study Suggests
Humankind struggled to survive during a 100,000 year period during the early Pleistocene, according to researchers who used a computer model to discover a severe population bottleneck in our species’ ancient past. The bottleneck occurred between 813,000 years ago and 930,000 years ago, and reduced an ancestral human species to less than 1,300 breeding individuals.…
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Adorable, Highly Inbred Land Parrots Are Somehow Genetically Thriving
Flightless, ungainly, and famously bad at sex, the critically endangered kākāpō of New Zealand — the world’s heaviest parrots — are in surprisingly good genetic health after 10,000 years of inbreeding, according to new research.
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Humans Alone Were Responsible For This Big Atlantic Seabird’s Extinction, New Evidence Shows
One of the northern hemisphere’s most famous extinct birds could have disappeared at the hands of humans and humans alone.