GENOME 562 Population Genetics
Credits: 4
Quarters: Sp
Instructor: Felsenstein
Course Desc.: Mathematical and experimental approaches to the genetics of natural populations, especially as they relate to evolution. Emphasis on theoretical population genetics. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: Sp.

Biology 454

The main evolution course at the University, taught yearly by Toby Bradshaw and Jon Herron Both are fine researchers in evolutionary biology. Text in past has been Futuyma's "Evolutionary Biology" or Ridley's "Evolution". This year it was Freeman and Herron's "Evolutionary Analysis". Winter quarter.

Zoology 414

Molecular evolution course by Scott Edwards, who is a very active researcher in that area. Texts have been Li and Graur "Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution" and Avise "Molecular Markers". Winter quarter.

Genome 570

This is my graduate-level course on Phylogenetic Inference. Methods for inferring phylogenies, and methods for doing things with them. Some background in statistics necessary. It will be given every other Spring (even numbered years).

Statistics/Biostatistics 550-551-552

The core course series for the UW's outstanding Statistical Genetics program. The three courses are:

550

Statistical Genetics I: Mendelian traits. Offered each Autumn by Elizabeth Thompson, who is a major figure (one can say a major force) in development of statistical genetics methodology.

551

Statistical Genetics II: Quantitative Traits. Offered each Winter by Stephanie Monks (Biostatistics), a new faculty member.

552

Statistical Genetics III: Medical Genetics Studies. Offered each Spring by Ellen Wijsman (Medical Genetics and Biostatistics) who is a iwell-known statistical geneticist.

Others

There are more courses and I'll gradually try to put descriptions of them here. Some other faculty members in this area (evolutionary genetics) are Leonid Kruglyak (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center), Matthew Stephens (Statistics), Carl Bergstrom (Biology) and Phil Green (Molecular Biotechnology).

There are many:

Newsgroups

Some brief descriptions of some of the major ones covering evolution:

sci.bio.systematics

Discussion of systematics, including phylogeny and classification. Very little traffic. Most postings are serious discussions by researchers. Some percentage of them are semantic issues or legalistic discussions of taxon names.

bionet.molbio.evolution

Discussion among researchers about molecular evolution. Low volume, high quality.

sci.bio.paleontology

Tends to be filled with postings by fossil enthusiasts and tends to be dinosaur-centered. Some creation/evolution debating too.

bionet.population-biology

This one exists but is basically defunct.

sci.bio.evolution

Moderated by Josh Hayes, formerly of our own Center for Quantitative Sciences, who should get some sort of award for putting up with a lot of nonsense. I think it was intended as a forum for discussion among researchers, but has tended to be filled with postings by others about whether humans are still evolving (answer: yes, but it's extremely slow compared to cultural change) and whether laughter is selectively advantageous. Not intended for evolution/creation debates: Josh screens these out.

talk.origins

The arena for endless debate between creationists and others, with frequent digressions into theology. Extremely high noise to signal ratio. When a decisive point is made, the opponent changes the subject or just refuses to respond.

Web Pages