There’s a thousand genes for that! (Ep 98)

<p>What is the “infinitesimal model”? How has our understanding of complex traits changed recently?</p> <p>On this episode, we talk with <a href="https://bartongroup.pages.ist.ac.at/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Nick Barton</a>, an evolutionary quantitative geneticist at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria. Quantitative genetics has changed a lot in the past 30 years, driven by massive advances in DNA sequencing power and by new statistical and computational approaches to harnessing the data flood. Nick works at the forefront of the field, developing and testing new theory, and we discuss both his research and his perspectives on these changes. We end by asking Nick about his advice for early career researchers who want to navigate the complex landscape composed of theory, computation, and data.</p> <p>Cover art by Keating Shahmehri<br><a href="https://www.bigbiology.org/checkout/donate?donatePageId=5a85f73d652dea6909ec845e" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Donate</a> to our spring fund drive! Or, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/bigbio" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">become a patron!</a> Or both! – hey, we’re not picky!</p>