Mathematics, genetics and evolution

Abstract

The importance of mathematics and statistics in genetics is well known. Perhaps less well known is the importance of these subjects in evolution. The main problem that Darwin saw in his theory of evolution by natural selection was solved by some simple mathematics. It is also not a coincidence that the re-writing of the Darwinian theory in Mendelian terms was carried largely by mathematical methods. In this article I discuss these historical matters and then consider more recent work showing how mathematical and statistical methods have been central to current genetical and evolutionary research.

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