I have been following the discussion around how best to represent and label human genetic variation, and thought it might also be worth discussing an aspect of the broader context. 1/n
Most of us agree that we need more diversity of scientists & study participants in genetic research: science would benefit from a greater diversity of questions & priorities; we’d learn about genetic effects in a broader range of environmental contexts; & it is simply fairer. 2/n
Sep 14, 2021 • 25 tweets • 5 min read
I keep reading versions of the statement that genetic differences within a human population have no implications for genetic differences between populations, alongside strong statements about what we know about the causes of differences within a population. 1/n
It got me thinking about how that distinction is not well defined, for many reasons: principally because (i) “populations” are an abstraction and not a real thing and (ii) that abstraction hides huge amounts of environmental variability… 2/n
Complex trait variation arises from both genetic and environmental effects and complex traits evolve under the influence of both. Yet as human population geneticists, we sometimes ignore environmental effects or implicitly assume that they are fixed. 2/n
