Sentences with phrase «accumulating small mutations»

Not exact matches

Each genetic mutation produces only a very small change in the biological features of the organism, but such small changes accumulate over immense periods of time and lead to the evolution of new species from old.

Excoffier and his colleagues developed theoretical models predicting that if modern humans migrated as small bands, then the populations that broke off from their original African family should progressively accumulate slightly harmful mutations — a mutation load.

Genetic diversity indicates the past abundance of a species because large populations tend to accumulate diversity through random DNA mutations and breeding, while small populations lose it through inbreeding.

One theory widely accepted by cancer researchers is that tiny precancerous lesions accumulate throughout the body because of random mutations or exposure to small amounts of carcinogens.

And judging from the small number of mutations it had accumulated, it came from there only about a thousand years ago.

Over the very period that the brain shrank, our DNA accumulated numerous adaptive mutations related to brain development and neurotransmitter systems — an indication that even as the organ got smaller, its inner workings changed.

The fact that animals can reach centuries lifespans, not develop cancer and most likely accumulate some small nDNA deleterious mutation load over time could mean that nDNA mutation are not as deleterious as say mtDNA deletions mutation.