phylogenetics

Genetics: Nature's digital code

Is nature using digital tools to deal with genetic information?

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Luca lived beneath the sea

Geneticists find fascinating clues to the origin of life.

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Counting the trees of life

How many possible genetic relationships are there between a collection of different species? The answer is mind-bogglingly large.

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Evolution: It's as real as gravity!

Why evolution through natural selection is more than a mere "theory".

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Do you know what's good for you - unravelling genetic secrets
One of the greatest advances in the biomedical sciences has been the unravelling of our genetic code. This new understanding sheds light on what makes organisms function and how they are related to each other, helps to combat diseases, and to convict criminals. But it also poses great mathematical challenges: the genetic revolution is an information explosion which can only be tamed using mathematical methods.
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Reconstructing the tree of life
Next year is a great one for biology. Not only will we celebrate 150 years since the publication of On the origin of species, but also 200 years since the birth of its author, Charles Darwin. At the heart of Darwin's theory of evolution lies a beautifully simple mathematical object: the evolutionary tree. In this article we look at how maths is used to reconstruct and understand it.
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