Scientists Turn Modern Biobanks into a New Window on Human Evolution

Scientists Turn Modern Biobanks into a New Window on Human Evolution

For more than a century, scientists have sought to reconstruct human evolution using diverse lines of evidence, including fossils, genetic variation across populations, and ancient DNA. Building on these approaches, researchers are increasingly using large population biobanks to investigate how natural selection continues to shape the genomes of living populations. This approach has provided new insights into human evolution, including the discovery of genetic variants associated with adaptation to high-altitude environments. The study has also highlighted the importance of considering the complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors in shaping human evolution.