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VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
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SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-2968
DTSTART:20130305T180500Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260420T004646Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20130207T210159Z
LOCATION:4274 Chamberlin (Refreshments will be served)
SUMMARY:How are complex adaptations built? Using cultural and genetic 
 convergence to understand evolving systems\, Chaos & Complex Systems S
 eminar\, John Hawks\, UW Department of Anthropology
DESCRIPTION:Adaptation by natural selection is a genetically heterogen
 eous process. Some adaptive phenotypes are the result of simple geneti
 c changes under positive natural selection. But some adaptive phenotyp
 es are more complex\, requiring changes to a network of interacting ge
 nes\, possibly in addition to gene-environment interactions. Is there 
 any general process by which such complex adaptations can be understoo
 d\, or are they a simple stochastic accumulation of simple changes? Th
 e record of recent human evolution provides a wealth of cases of genet
 ic and cultural changes that have unfolded convergently in different p
 opulations. Genetic adaptation to new pathogens\, new diets and new ph
 ysical environments allows us to probe the networks of genetic interac
 tions and the timing of changes on multiple human genes. Cultural adap
 tation to new diets and modes of social organization also allow us to 
 examine how evolutionary dynamics may constrain the path taken by comp
 lex adaptations. I lay out a research agenda that distinguishes functi
 onal networks from evolutionary networks\, giving us a way to discuss 
 the origins of complexity through evolutionary time. 
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=2968
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