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This article provides a long-term demographic analysis of the principal members of the population of companies quoted on the UK stock exchanges in 1948. Motivated by theories of natural selection and of corporate governance, it traces the survival records of the 1948 population over the biblical 'threescore years and ten' to 2018. Of the population of 1513 companies in 1948, only 19 survived for the full seventy years. The survival rate, as captured by the half-life of companies in the population, is remarkably stable over the period. As well as charting death rates over time, the study explores the causes of death – takeover, failure, etc. Also it analyses the relationship between survival and the characteristics of the firm and its environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic regions under positive selection harbor variation linked for example to adaptation. Most tools for detecting positively selected variants have computational resource requirements rendering them impractical on population genomic datasets with hundreds of thousands of individuals or more. We have developed and implemented an efficient haplotype-based approach able to scan large datasets and accurately detect positive selection. We achieve this by combining a pattern matching approach based on the positional Burrows–Wheeler transform with model-based inference which only requires the evaluation of closed-form expressions. We evaluate our approach with simulations, and find it to be both sensitive and specific. The computational resource requirements quantified using UK Biobank data indicate that our implementation is scalable to population genomic datasets with millions of individuals. Our approach may serve as an algorithmic blueprint for the era of "big data" genomics: a combinatorial core coupled with statistical inference in closed form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Introgression from extinct Neanderthal and Denisovan human species has been shown to contribute to the genetic pool of modern human populations and their phenotypic spectrum. Evidence of how Neanderthal introgression shaped the genetics of human traits and diseases has been extensively studied in populations of European descent, with signatures of admixture reported for instance in genes associated with pigmentation, immunity, and metabolic traits. However, limited information is currently available about the impact of archaic introgression on other ancestry groups. Additionally, to date, no study has been conducted with respect to the impact of Denisovan introgression on the health and disease of modern populations. Here, we compare the way evolutionary pressures shaped the genetics of complex traits in East Asian and European populations, and provide evidence of the impact of Denisovan introgression on the health of East Asian and Central/South Asian populations. Results: Leveraging genome-wide association statistics from the Biobank Japan and UK Biobank, we assessed whether Denisovan and Neanderthal introgression together with other evolutionary genomic signatures were enriched for the heritability of physiological and pathological conditions in populations of East Asian and European descent. In EAS, Denisovan-introgressed loci were enriched for coronary artery disease heritability (1.69-fold enrichment, p=0.003). No enrichment for archaic introgression was observed in EUR. We also performed a phenome-wide association study of Denisovan and Neanderthal alleles in six ancestry groups available in the UK Biobank. In EAS, the Denisovan-introgressed SNP rs62391664 in the major histocompatibility complex region was associated with albumin/globulin ratio (beta=−0.17, p=3.57×10−7). Neanderthal-introgressed alleles were associated with psychiatric and cognitive traits in EAS (e.g., "No Bipolar or Depression"-rs79043717 beta=−1.5, p=1.1×10−7), and with blood biomarkers (e.g., alkaline phosphatase-rs11244089 beta=0.1, p=3.69×10−116) and red hair color (rs60733936 beta=−0.86, p=4.49×10−165) in EUR. In the other ancestry groups, Neanderthal alleles were associated with several traits, also including the use of certain medications (e.g., Central/South East Asia: indapamide – rs732632 beta=−2.38, p=5.22×10−7). Conclusions: Our study provides novel evidence regarding the impact of archaic introgression on the genetics of complex traits in worldwide populations, highlighting the specific contribution of Denisovan introgression in EAS populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural selection has been documented in contemporary humans, but little is known about the mechanisms behind it. We test for natural selection through the association between 33 polygenic scores and fertility, across two generations, using data from UK Biobank (N = 409,629 British subjects with European ancestry). Consistently over time, polygenic scores that predict higher earnings, education and health also predict lower fertility. Selection effects are concentrated among lower SES groups, younger parents, people with more lifetime sexual partners, and people not living with a partner. The direction of natural selection is reversed among older parents, or after controlling for age at first live birth. These patterns are in line with the economic theory of fertility, in which earnings-increasing human capital may either increase or decrease fertility via income and substitution effects in the labour market. Studying natural selection can help us understand the genetic architecture of health outcomes: we find evidence in modern day Great Britain for multiple natural selection pressures that vary between subgroups in the direction and strength of their effects, that are strongly related to the socio-economic system, and that may contribute to health inequalities across income groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intestinal hormone, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), is involved in important physiological functions, including postprandial blood glucose homeostasis, bone remodeling, and lipid metabolism. While mutations leading to physiological changes can be identified in large-scale sequencing, no systematic investigation of GIP missense variants has been performed. Here, we identified 168 naturally occurring missense variants in the human GIP genes from three independent cohorts comprising ~720,000 individuals. We examined amino acid changing variants scattered across the pre-pro-GIP peptide using in silico effect predictions, which revealed that the sequence of the fully processed GIP hormone is more protected against mutations than the rest of the precursor protein. Thus, we observed a highly species-orthologous and population-specific conservation of the GIP peptide sequence, suggestive of evolutionary constraints to preserve the GIP peptide sequence. Elucidating the mutational landscape of GIP variants and how they affect the structural and functional architecture of GIP can aid future biological characterization and clinical translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following more than a century of phenotypic measurement of natural selection processes, much recent work explores relationships between molecular genetic measurements and realized fitness in the next generation. We take an innovative approach to the study of contemporary selective pressure by examining which genetic variants are “sustained” in populations as mortality exposure increases. Specifically, we deploy a so-called “regional GWAS” (genome-wide association study) that links the infant mortality rate (IMR) by place and year in the United Kingdom with common genetic variants among birth cohorts in the UK Biobank. These cohorts (born between 1936 and 1970) saw a decline in IMR from above 65 to under 20 deaths per 1,000 live births, with substantial subnational variations and spikes alongside wartime exposures. Our results show several genome-wide significant loci, including LCT and TLR10/1/6, related to area-level cohort IMR exposure during gestation and infancy. Genetic correlations are found across multiple domains, including fertility, cognition, health behaviors, and health outcomes, suggesting an important role for cohort selection in modern populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levels of sex differences for human body size and shape phenotypes are hypothesized to have adaptively reduced following the agricultural transition as part of an evolutionary response to relatively more equal divisions of labor and new technology adoption. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by studying genetic variants associated with five sexually differentiated human phenotypes: height, body mass, hip circumference, body fat percentage, and waist circumference. We first analyzed genome-wide association (GWAS) results for UK Biobank individuals (~194,000 females and ~167,000 males) to identify a total of 114,199 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with at least one of the studied phenotypes in females, males, or both sexes (P<5x10-8). From these loci we then identified 3,016 SNPs (2.6%) with significant differences in the strength of association between the female- and male-specific GWAS results at a low false-discovery rate (FDR<0.001). Genes with known roles in sexual differentiation are significantly enriched for co-localization with one or more of these SNPs versus SNPs associated with the phenotypes generally but not with sex differences (2.73-fold enrichment; permutation test; P = 0.0041). We also confirmed that the identified variants are disproportionately associated with greater phenotype effect sizes in the sex with the stronger association value. We then used the singleton density score statistic, which quantifies recent (within the last ~3,000 years; post-agriculture adoption in Britain) changes in the frequencies of alleles underlying polygenic traits, to identify a signature of recent positive selection on alleles associated with greater body fat percentage in females (permutation test; P = 0.0038; FDR = 0.0380), directionally opposite to that predicted by the sex differences reduction hypothesis. Otherwise, we found no evidence of positive selection for sex difference-associated alleles for any other trait. Overall, our results challenge the longstanding hypothesis that sex differences adaptively decreased following subsistence transitions from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Author summary: There is uncertainty regarding the evolutionary history of human sex differences for quantitative body size and shape phenotypes. In this study we identified thousands of genetic loci that differentially impact body size and shape trait variation between females and males using a large sample of UK Biobank individuals. After confirming the biological plausibility of these loci, we used a population genomics approach to study the recent (over the past ~3,000 years) evolutionary histories of these loci in this population. We observed significant increases in the frequencies of alleles associated with greater body fat percentage in females. This result is contradictory to longstanding hypotheses that sex differences have adaptively decreased following subsistence transitions from hunting and gathering to agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of myopia, or nearsightedness, has skyrocketed in the past few decades, creating a public health crisis that is commonly attributed to lifestyle changes. Here we report an overall increase in the frequencies of myopia-associated mutant alleles over 25 years among participants of the UK Biobank. Although myopia itself appears to be selected against, many of the mutant alleles are associated with reproductive benefits, suggesting that reproduction-related selection inadvertently contributes to the myopia epidemic. We estimate that, in the UK alone, natural selection adds more than 100 000 myopia cases per generation, and argue that antagonistic pleiotropy be broadly considered in explaining the spreads of apparently disadvantageous phenotypes in humans and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between natural selection and phenotypic variation has been a long-standing challenge in human population genetics. With the emergence of biobank-scale datasets, along with new statistical metrics to approximate strength of purifying selection at the variant level, it is now possible to correlate a proxy of individual relative fitness with a range of medical phenotypes. We calculated a per-individual deleterious load score by summing the total number of derived alleles per individual after incorporating a weight that approximates strength of purifying selection. We assessed four methods for the weight, including GERP, phyloP, CADD, and fitcons. By quantitatively tracking each of these scores with the site frequency spectrum, we identified phyloP as the most appropriate weight. The phyloP-weighted load score was then calculated across 15,129,142 variants in 335,161 individuals from the UK Biobank and tested for association on 1,380 medical phenotypes. After accounting for multiple test correction, we observed a strong association of the load score amongst coding sites only on 27 traits including body mass, adiposity and metabolic rate. We further observed that the association signals were driven by common variants (derived allele frequency > 5%) with high phyloP score (phyloP > 2). Finally, through permutation analyses, we showed that the load score amongst coding sites had an excess of nominally significant associations on many medical phenotypes. These results suggest a broad impact of deleterious load on medical phenotypes and highlight the deleterious load score as a tool to disentangle the complex relationship between natural selection and medical phenotypes. Author summary: This study aims to augment our understanding between the complex relation between natural selection and human phenotypic variation. We developed a load score to approximate the relative fitness of an individual and correlate it with a set of medical phenotypes. Association tests between the load score amongst coding sites and 1,380 phenotypes in a sample of 335,161 individuals from the UK Biobank showed a strong association with 27 traits including body mass, adiposity and metabolic rate. Furthermore, an excess of nominal associations at suggestive levels was observed between the load score amongst coding sites and medical phenotypes than would be expected under a null model. These results suggest that the aggregate effect of deleterious mutations as measured by the load score has a broad effect on human phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to show that by combining concepts and propositions drawn from behavioral evolutionism, Weberian sociology, and organizational systematics, an ecological theory of bureaucracy can be constructed that explains the emergence and proliferation of bureaucratic organizations as well as the classical Darwinian theory of natural selection explains the rise and adaptive radiation of higher biological taxa, such as birds or mammals. This ecological theory is then used to explain the bureaucratization of the British pottery industry during the industrial revolution. One preliminary finding of this investigation is that bureaucratic elements are selectively retained because they enhance a firm's profitability in both the neoclassical and Marxian sense of the term: they increase its input- output efficiency and its ability to extract surplus value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we investigated the eye colour of human commercial models registered in the UK (400 female and 400 male) and Brazil (400 female and 400 male) to test the hypothesis that model eye colour frequency was the result of negative frequency-dependent selection. The eye colours of the models were classified as: blue, brown or intermediate. Chi-square analyses of data for countries separated by sex showed that in the United Kingdom brown eyes and intermediate colours were significantly more frequent than expected in comparison to the general United Kingdom population (P<0.001). In Brazil, the most frequent eye colour brown was significantly less frequent than expected in comparison to the general Brazilian population. These results support the hypothesis that model eye colour is the result of negative frequency-dependent selection. This could be the result of people using eye colour as a marker of genetic diversity and finding rarer eye colours more attractive because of the potential advantage more genetically diverse offspring that could result from such a choice. Eye colour may be important because in comparison to many other physical traits (e.g., hair colour) it is hard to modify, hide or disguise, and it is highly polymorphic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hip dysplasia is an important and complex genetic disease in dogs with both genetic and environmental influences. Since the osteoarthritis that develops is irreversible the only way to improve welfare, through reducing the prevalence, is through genetic selection. This study aimed to evaluate the progress of selection against hip dysplasia, to quantify potential improvements in the response to selection via use of genetic information and increases in selection intensity, and to prepare for public provision of estimated breeding values (EBV) for hip dysplasia in the UK. Data consisted of 25,243 single records of hip scores of Labrador Retrievers between one and four years old, from radiographs evaluated between 2000 and 2007 as part of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) hip score scheme. A natural logarithm transformation was applied to improve normality and linear mixed models were evaluated using ASREML. Genetic correlations between left and right scores, and total hip scores at one, two and three years of age were found to be close to one, endorsing analysis of total hip score in dogs aged one to three as an appropriate approach. A heritability of 0.35±0.016 and small but significant litter effect (0.07±0.009) were estimated. The observed trends in both mean hip score and mean EBV over year of birth indicate that a small genetic improvement has been taking place, approximately equivalent to avoiding those dogs with the worst 15% of scores. Deterministic analysis supported by simulations showed that a 19% greater response could be achieved using EBV compared to phenotype through increases in accuracy alone. This study establishes that consistent but slow genetic improvement in the hip score of UK Labrador Retrievers has been achieved over the previous decade, and demonstrates that progress may be easily enhanced through the use of EBVs and more intense selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing genetic variation of human populations for detecting loci that have been affected by positive natural selection is important for understanding adaptive history and phenotypic variation in humans. In this study, we analyzed recent positive selection in Northern Europe from genome-wide data sets of 250 000 and 500 000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a total of 999 individuals from Great Britain, Northern Germany, Eastern and Western Finland, and Sweden. Coalescent simulations were used for demonstrating that the integrated haplotype score (iHS) and long-range haplotype (LRH) statistics have sufficient power in genome-wide data sets of different sample sizes and SNP densities. Furthermore, the behavior of the FST statistic in closely related populations was characterized by allele frequency simulations. In the analysis of the North European data set, 60 regions in the genome showed strong signs of recent positive selection. Out of these, 21 regions have not been discovered in previous scans, and many contain genes with interesting functions (eg, RAB38, INFG, NOS1AP, and APOE). In the putatively selected regions, we observed a statistically significant overrepresentation of genetic association with complex disease, which emphasizes the importance of the analysis of positive selection in understanding the evolution of human disease. Altogether, this study demonstrates the potential of genome-wide data sets to discover loci that lie behind evolutionary adaptation in different human populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an exploration into the history of the biological theory of evolution as developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin, highlighting the period of its popularization in the U.S. and Great Britain between 1860 to 1900. Details are given noting the existence of multiple versions of evolutionary theory which circulated during the period, many of which did not agree with Darwin's particular system of natural selection. An overview of several major texts from the period is then given, including lectures, sermons and popular works. Comments are then given regarding Darwin's frustration at the growing discrepancy between his theories and the work of his colleagues who spread alternate views under his name.

The article discusses the literary works of author Herbert George Wells in Great Britain. It criticizes Wells's article "Man of the Year Million" which predicted the evolutionary future of mankind. It explores the author's adoption of physiologist Thomas Huxley's pessimistic idea on late-Victorian evolutionary theory, specifically his emphasis on the brutality of natural selection. It also examines the work of Wells as a case study of cross-fertilization between literature and scientific ideas. The association between genius and insanity is discoursed.

The decline in industrial melanism over the last quarter century constitutes an exceptional case of an evolutionary change, varying in both time and space, and between species. In Biston betularia and Odontoptera bidentata, the change in melanic frequency is closely replicated at two sites 0.5 km apart. Between seven sites 50–100 km apart, there is heterogeneity in both the speed and timing of change. At sites that were heavily industrialized, the change is faster, from an initially higher frequency, and starts later than at sites which are more rural.We propose a method for estimating systematic change during sigmoid declines in melanic frequencies. This fails to show any significant change over time in selective coefficients. It is concluded that the overall pattern of change has been driven largely by events in the most polluted and industrialized parts of the country. Although migration may contribute to the estimated selective values, natural selection is the only credible explanation for the overall decline.Heredity (2008) 101, 483–489; doi:10.1038/hdy.2008.105; published online 22 October 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines a debate engendered in the ethnological and anthropological circles by Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and its effects in Great Britain. According to the author, the debate pertained to the nature of human diversity rather than transmutation. An overview on the doctrine of polygenists and monogenists is also offered. James Hunt, a proponent of polygenism, states that natural selection had finally excluded monogenism. In addition, Thomas Huxley, the most prominent exponent of monogenism, claimed it amalgamated the best of both polygenism and monogenism, thus, provided an explanation on the irreversible inequity of races, while maintaining that all humans were of one species.

1. The objective of this study was to investigate the strength of the genetic association between growth and reproduction traits in turkeys selected for body weight, conformation and egg production. 2. Two distinct populations but derived from the same heavy turkey female line and situated in different locations (UK and USA), were used to estimate genetic parameters using multivariate REML for the following traits: body weight at 14(BW14), 19(BW19) and 24(BW24) weeks of age and total egg number (EGG). 3. A Box-Cox transformation was applied to egg production data to reduce the impact of non-normality. 4. The heritability estimates for each trait for the UK and USA populations, respectively, were: BW14 0·37 and 0·48; BW19 0·34 and 0·43; BW24 0·28 and 0·43; EGG 0·22 and 0·34. 5. The genetic correlation between the body weight at all ages and the total egg production was strongly negative, reaching a value of −0·75 for the UK and −0·55 for the USA population. 6. The comparison of our results with published estimates in turkeys suggests that the genetic correlation may get stronger in magnitude following selection for increased body weight. 7. This could arise from fixation during selection of genes favouring larger weights but with minimal effect on egg production, leaving the segregating genetic variation dominated by pleiotropic loci with antagonistic effects on the traits. 8. Thus, in order to avoid continued selection for body weight reducing egg production to a point where natural selection offsets selection gains, alternative selection strategies should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines former ideologies of scientist Charles Darwin in order to explore the leading features of his fame, both during his lifetime and beyond in Great Britain. Popular mementoes, statues and visual images serving as material record of his celebrity; Accounts of Darwin's funeral in Westminster Abbey; Main commemorations and centenary celebrations for Darwin; Impact of the theory of evolution by natural selection on his celebrity.

Explains that the book "The Darwinian Revolution," by Michael Ruse, gives an overview of the revolution as understood at the time of the writing in 1979. Factors involved, from straight science to philosophical methodology, and to religious influences and challenges; Impact of social factors, not the least of which was the professionalization of science in Britain in the 19th century.

Examines science history about the swamping argument of electrical engineer Fleeming Jenkins in relation to subsequent criticisms of assumptions and the theory of natural selection by naturalist Charles Robert Darwin in Great Britain. Limitations of natural selection under blending inheritance;

Abstract Genetic structuring of populations reflects the interaction of genetic drift, mutation, migration and selection, with influences from life history. Aphids are interesting in this regard as they have the potential for unusually high levels of dispersal and natural selection, which typically counter each other. In the present study, winged grain aphids Sitobion avenae (F.) were collected in four 12.2-m high suction traps along a north–south transect in Britain in order to eliminate sampling bias from plant hosts (cereals and grasses; Poaceae), it being known that these insects show host adaptation demonstrable using molecular markers. Samples were analysed at four polymorphic microsatellite loci over two consecutive years. Population allele frequencies were similar nationally during the two years, although clonal diversity varied greatly between sites and years. In the first sampling year following a harsh winter, diversity was found to display a latitudinal clinal trend: the proportion of unique clones (genotypes) increased with latitude. However, this pattern was less apparent the following year, after a milder winter. Nonetheless, overall F ST analysis showed that there was little spatial genetic structuring in either sampling year. These data support the view that the insect is highly migratory and also support a theoretical model and previous data suggesting that the reproductive mode is clinal in S. avenae . This appears to be because natural selection (reduced reproductive success of asexual genotypes under cold conditions) is sufficiently powerful to overcome the homogenizing effects of strong migration. There was no clear evidence for isolation by distance for the genetic data obtained. The data are compared with similar data from other aphid species and other insects. Only by the collection of such data sets can an accurate picture be built up relating genetic variability to flight behaviour, including migratory ambit in this... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite Weber's explicit rejection in several of his writings of the Darwinian concepts of selection and adaptation, in his sociology of law he briefly discusses the emergence and diffusion of novel forms of behaviour in selectionist terms entirely consistent with the Darwinian paradigm. There is therefore reason to suggest that he could have advanced his ‘Protestant Ethic’ thesis in similar terms, and that if he had its merits and deficiencies would have been significantly easier to diagnose. So interpreted, the thesis is still inadequately supported by the evidence that he adduces in its favour. But a reformulated selectionist version directed to explaining the success of Protestant entrepreneurs in the 18th century is much more convincing, and can be supported by the evidence for what did (and didn't) happen in Scotland and China as well as continental Europe. Moreover, Weber's underestimation of China's economic achievements strengthens rather than weakens the reformulated version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the conception of Quakerism in Great Britain. Theory of natural selection; Changes necessary to revitalize the Quaker community; Participation of Quakers in the scientific community.

When invited to deliver this year's Caradog Jones Lecture, I was familiar with neither the lecture as an institution nor the work of the man in whose honour it is held. However, in view of the interest of Caradog Jones in the quality of British society it became clear that the subject of the lecture should be related, amongst other things, to the improvement of social conditions in general and to the improvement of the quality of the population of Great Britain in particular.It is hardly necessary to say that the present state of British society leaves room for improvement, beset as it is with severe social and economic problems. Now the key to the solution of these problems must be a sound understanding of the way social and economic systems work. What is apparent from the briefest scrutiny of the economic and social reforms attempted in the recent past is that they have not succeeded and this, I strongly suggest, is because the theoretical premises on which they were founded are unsound. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article describes an extension of studies of basic biological concepts with British tertiary students to tertiary Australian students. Aim of this report is to further explore the conceptual frameworks and reasoning patterns used for unfamiliar biological problems which are based on real world instances. Several unfamiliar qualitative problems based on the concept of natural selection were designed, and given to the students in three different formats. Analysis of students' explanations was by identification of key concepts and phrases used.

Mates are similar to one another across a large number of traits, including liabilities underlying psychiatric disorders. It has long been known that when such phenotypic similarity implies genetic similarity (hereafter, assortative mating), heritability estimates from family and twin studies can be biased. However, the effects of assortative mating, if any, on estimates of heritability from all SNPs in unrelated individuals (SNP-based heritability, h2SNP) have not been investigated to date. We derived mathematically the expected behavior of estimates from Haseman-Elston regression and GREML, and assessed these predictions via simulation. We then assessed in the UK Biobank whether the predicted signatures of assortative mating on h2SNP were observed. We show analytically and via simulation that estimates of h2SNP from both GREML and Haseman-Elston regression are typically biased upwards in the presence of assortative mating. However, estimates from Haseman-Elston regression are roughly constant as a function of sample size and number of markers, whereas the ratio of sample size to number of markers strongly affects those from GREML. This difference in estimate behavior allows one to assess in real data whether assortative mating is affecting estimates of h2SNP. When we did this in the UK Biobank for height and IQ, we observed that h2SNP estimates for height that behaved as predicted, but not for h2SNP estimates for IQ. For many traits, the degree of bias in estimates of h2SNP is expected to be small, but it can be non-trivial for other traits, depending on the degree of assortative mating and the heritability of the traits. For example, based on spousal similarity, we predict that h2SNP estimates of height and IQ are ~25% greater than their true equilibrium values. That we did not observe the predicted pattern of h2SNP estimates for IQ may either suggest that spousal similarity for IQ occurs via mechanisms that do not lead to genetic similarity (e.g., social homogamy) or that the effects of assortative mating on the covariance between causal variants is counter-acted by the forces of natural selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most methods for fast detection of identity by descent (IBD) segments report identity by state segments without any quantification of the uncertainty in the endpoints and lengths of the IBD segments. We present a method for determining the posterior probability distribution of IBD segment endpoints. Our approach accounts for genotype errors, recent mutations, and gene conversions which disrupt DNA sequence identity within IBD segments, and it can be applied to large cohorts with whole-genome sequence or SNP array data. We find that our method's estimates of uncertainty are well calibrated for homogeneous samples. We quantify endpoint uncertainty for 77.7 billion IBD segments from 408,883 individuals of white British ancestry in the UK Biobank, and we use these IBD segments to find regions showing evidence of recent natural selection. We show that many spurious selection signals are eliminated by the use of unbiased estimates of IBD segment endpoints and a pedigree-based genetic map. Eleven of the twelve regions with the greatest evidence for recent selection in our scan have been identified as selected in previous analyses using different approaches. Our computationally efficient method for quantifying IBD segment endpoint uncertainty is implemented in the open source ibd-ends software package., (Copyright © 2020 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The article reports that the Natural History Museum has partnered with examination board Edexcel to help students studying the AS level "History, Philosophy and Ethics of Science (Perspective on Science)" access primary material sources including the private collection of scientist Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallace's manuscript and specimens were presented by his family to the British museum in 2002. He co-discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin.

The article recaps the major news items featured in "Nature" in July 1958 and July 1908 in Great Britain. It notes that in 1958 a meeting was held at the Linnean Society in London, England, which was attended by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace and during which the theory of natural selection was read. On the other hand, the 1908 issue featured a list of people honored during His Majesty's birthday who included names of a few men identified for their contribution in pure and applied science. It also notes that the honor list also included names of people in the naval and military services.

The article presents the complete works of Charles Darwin online, hosted by the University of Cambridge in Great Britain. Darwin was a renowned naturalist and thinker associated with the theory of evolution by natural selection. The Web site, darwin-online.org.uk, includes background information for his writings, book drafts, and a collection of contemporary caricatures. In addition, it also has a manuscript of the 1842 essay that first lays out Darwin's evolutionary theory, allowing readers to compare the never-published original with the posthumously released version transcribed and edited by his son Francis Darwin.

The article presents information about Charles Darwin, who was famous as the author of a popular travelogue and a heap of scientific publications. Thanks to historian John van Wyhe of the University of Cambridge, Great Britain, one can browse most of Darwin's oeuvre at this site, which holds transcripts of papers, letters, books and other writings. The collection includes lesser known works such as the unpublished 1842 and 1844 essays in which he first sketched his ideas on evolution through natural selection.