Genomes, Evolution, and Culture

Preface, ix 1 The history of human evolutionary genetics, 1 World views, 1 Science and philosophy, 1 The biology of mankind: anatomy and physiology in a historical context (up to the 16th century), 3 Beginnings of the present scientific model, 4 Biological evolution and genetic foundations: the brilliant quartet, 5 Nineteenth century: cytology, embryology, and reproduction, 9 Twentieth century, the century of genetics, 10 The synthetic theory of evolution, 11 Bacterial and molecular genetics, 11 Parallel developments: paleoanthropology, 12 Technical and methodological developments, 13 Conclusions, 14 Review questions and exercises, 14 References, 14 2 The human genome: structure, function, and variation, 16 Science, politics, and ethics, 16 Structural aspects, 17 Normal and abnormal phenotype distribution, 19 Function, 21 Sex chromosomes, 23 Paleogenomics, 25 Variability: mtDNA, 28 Nuclear variability, 28 Exomes and proteomes, 30 Selection or drift? History, 31 Selection or drift? Methods, 32 Selection or drift? Analyses, 34 Nervous system and culture, 37 Conclusions, 37 Review questions and exercises, 37 References, 38 3 Population structure, 42 DNA-based marker systems, 42 SNPs, STRs, and Indels as DNA markers, 45 Population genetic tools for analyzing population structure, 49 Forces affecting population dynamics, structure, and evolution, 55 Applications of population genetics, 60 From populations to races and species, 62 Review questions and exercises, 64 References, 65 4 Genetic variability, 68 On the nature of variability, 68 Mechanisms responsible for generating genetic variability, 69 Randomness of mutations, 71 Inheritance and environment, 75 Selection works on the phenotype, 76 The impact of selection, 77 Cultural expressions as markers of ancestry, 79 Congruency among marker systems, 80 Does junk DNA exist?, 80 How genetic diversity is studied?, 82 Epigenetic diversity, 84 Review questions and exercises, 85 References, 86 5 Gene and genomic dynamics, 87 Molecular evidence for punctuated equilibrium and gradualism, 88 Next-generation sequencing, 90 Genetic variation, 92 Variation, population structure, and effective population size, 94 Recombination and its effect on variation, 94 Linkage equilibrium and disequilibrium, 95 Forces leading to linkage disequilibrium, 98 Linkage disequilibrium and SNP haplotypes, 99 Linkage disequilibrium in humans, 100 Genome structural variations, 102 CNV classifications and formation mechanisms, 102 Methods used to detect CNVs, 103 CNVs associated with human phenotypes, 105 CNVs and evolution, 106 CNV in primates, 107 Chromosome rearrangements and selfish genetic elements, 108 Transposable elements, 109 Population dynamics of transposable elements, 110 Transposons in human evolution, 111 Selfish genetic elements in evolution, 113 Genome-wide association studies, 113 Concerns over the effective use of GWAS, 117 Conclusions, 117 Review questions and exercises, 118 References, 119 6 Human origins and early diasporas, 124 The on switch to humanity, 124 Early hominins, 128 Emerging themes and variations in hominin evolution, 130 The first hominin migrants, 134 The emergence of modern humans, 135 The Saharan pump, 135 Early migrations, 136 Neanderthals prevailed, 136 Review questions and exercises, 138 References, 139 7 Culture, 141 Concept, 141 Origin and development, 141 Factors that could condition cultural evolution, 142 Biology-culture interaction, 145 Language, 146 Domestication, 148 Art, 151 Free will, morality, and religion, 153 Conclusions, 155 Review questions and exercises, 155 References, 155 8 Health and disease, 158 Hopes and reality, 158 Concept of health and methods of study, 158 Darwinian medicine, 160 Parent-offspring conflict, 161 Pathogen history, 161 Evolution of infectious diseases, 162 DNA damage, mutagenesis, and teratogenesis, 163 What is better, more or less gene product?, 165 Genetic manipulation of animals to study health and disease, 166 Reproductive fitness and health, 167 Consanguinity, 168 Violence, 168 Cancer, 171 Degenerative diseases, 172 Ecogenetics, pharmacogenetics, and pharmacogenomics, 174 Detection of genetic diseases, 176 Genetic counseling, 176 Treatment, 178 Conclusions, 179 Review questions and exercises, 179 References, 180 9 Recent human evolution: an integrative approach, 182 Recent human evolution, 182 Out of Africa, 184 Back to Africa, 188 Beyond Arabia, 190 The Asian agricultural revolution and the Austronesian expansion, 194 Evidence from plants and animals, 198 Contacts between South America and Polynesia, 200 Review questions and exercises, 202 References, 203 10 Bioethics: consequences and implications of genetic technology on human evolution, 206 Social and biological evolution, 207 Overview of ethics and philosophical influences on Western ethics, 207 Evolution of ethics and morality, 212 The history and beginning of modern-day bioethics, 213 Reproductive technologies and the new eugenics: unnatural selection?, 216 Enhancement through IVF, PGD, and CRISPR, 219 Ethical issues associated with medical technology, 220 Gene therapy, 220 Stem cell therapy, 222 Biosimilars, 222 Genetic privacy, 222 Genetic testing, 223 DNA profiling, 224 Conclusions, 227 Review questions and exercises, 227 References, 228 11 Future of human evolution, 230 Gene and culture coevolution, 231 Life expectancy and population growth: past, present, and future, 231 Mutation rates and future evolution, 232 The evolution of new genes, 234 Climate change, 234 Diet, 235 Sex selection, 236 Artificial selection, 236 Transhumanism and artificial intelligence, 237 Conclusions, 238 Review questions and exercises, 239 References, 239 Appendix, 241 Index, 249