Richard Lewontin - Work On Human Genetic Diversity

Work On Human Genetic Diversity

In a landmark paper, in 1972 Lewontin identified that most of the variation (80-85%) within human populations is found within local geographic groups and differences attributable to traditional "race" groups are a minor part of human genetic variability (1-15%). He argued that the probability of racial misclassification of an individual based on variation in a single genetic locus is approximately 30% and the misclassification probability becomes close to zero if enough loci are studied. In a 2003 paper, A.W.F. Edwards criticized Lewontin's conclusion that race is an invalid taxonomic construct, terming it Lewontin's Fallacy.

Read more about this topic:  Richard Lewontin

Famous quotes containing the words work on, work, human, genetic and/or diversity:

    Gustav Aschenbach was the writer who spoke for all those who work on the brink of exhaustion, who labor and are heavy-laden, who are worn out already but still stand upright, all those moralists of achievement who are slight of stature and scanty of resources, but who yet, by some ecstasy of the will and by wise husbandry, manage at least for a time to force their work into a semblance of greatness.
    Thomas Mann (1875–1955)

    My work is the only ground I’ve ever had to stand on. I seem to have a whole superstructure with no foundation—but I’m working on the foundation.
    Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962)

    It is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning, and that all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn. It is possible to believe that all the human mind has ever accomplished is but the dream before the awakening.
    —H.G. (Herbert George)

    What strikes many twin researchers now is not how much identical twins are alike, but rather how different they are, given the same genetic makeup....Multiples don’t walk around in lockstep, talking in unison, thinking identical thoughts. The bond for normal twins, whether they are identical or fraternal, is based on how they, as individuals who are keenly aware of the differences between them, learn to relate to one another.
    Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)

    The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government.
    James Madison (1751–1836)