2010

Darwin day, Darwin year and the Diversity of Life

The Darwin year 2009 is over, but the importance of evolution for life on this planet has not changed. 2010, the year of biodiversity highlights different aspects of evolution and our need to act on what we know.

The population genetics of mutations: good, bad and indifferent

At its heart evolution@home investigates how DNA changes affect populations in the long run. The scene for this work has been set by the research of evolutionary biologists like Brian Charlesworth. To mark his 65th birthday on 29 April 2010 and his many significant contributions, a themed issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B has been published on 'The population genetics of mutations: good, bad and indifferent'. It comprises articles by a number of influential individuals who have been associated with Brian over the years.

New approach for predicting the speed of Muller's ratchet

David Waxman of the University of Sussex (UK) developed a new approach for predicting the rate of mutation accumulation from Muller's ratchet. Evolution@home results helped to test the predictions.