Statistical Genetics at the University of Washington |
WHAT IS STATISTICAL GENETICS IN THE NEW MILLENIUM? Genetics has its origins with Mendel; Mendel's (1866) Laws were fundamentally probabilistic. Genetics is understanding the heritable variation of living organisms. Understanding variation is inherently statistical. Variation is not error: it is the raw material of evolution. Statistical genetics has its origins in the work of R. A. Fisher, S. Wright, and J. B. S. Haldane in the 1920s and 1930s. They realized that observable genetic variation could be subjected to probabilistic modeling, rigorous statistical analysis, and well-founded scientific inference. Around 1980, the first of a wealth of new genetic markers became available, making possible the study of genetic variation at the DNA level. Since then, also, new biotechnology has made large-scale DNA sequencing feasible, leading to the Human Genome Project -- the endeavor to sequence the entire human genome. This is nearing completion. Phase two of the Human Genome Project has two major components. One is the discovery of the relationships between DNA sequence and gene function; this is the estimation of effects. The other involves the study and understanding of the genetic variation within and among individuals, populations, and species; this is analysis of variance. Both these goals are intrinsically statistical, and fall within the realm of Statistical Genetics. There can be no more exciting time to enter this field. And more... |
| Contact Elizabeth Thompson with comments. | |
| Last updated: Wednesday, 28-Aug-2002 16:14:14 PDT | |