title: The DNA revolution in population genetics.
abstract: Unprecedental clarity has come to our understanding of genetic variation by the analysis of DNA sequences. It is not surprising that the new DNA technologies are leading to a resurgence of interest in population genetics. In this review, I discuss recent progress and future directions towards reconstructing the history of human populations. There is increasing consensus on a recent 'Out of Africa' origin of modern humans, which explains why the greatest fraction of genetic diversity is found within populations, rather than between them. The comparison of Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA data shows remarkable sex differences in geographic variation. The analysis of Neanderthal DNA has been a major breakthrough in the study of fossil DNA. Among major hopes for the future are application to polygenic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Stanford School of Medicine, CA 94305-94293, USA. cavilli@volterra.stanford.edu
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Cavalli-Sforza
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005544:Forecasting; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D014998:Y Chromosome
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005819:Genetic Markers; D004247:DNA