Migration/gene flow

Abstract

As people move, so do their genes. Migrations cause changes in the spatial distribution of genetic signatures, and mapping these signatures of gene flow over time can shed light on past movements. The evolutionary history of anatomically modern humans (AMH) has witnessed several key dispersals, from the migration out of Africa to the eventual peopling of the rest of the world. Since the initial peopling process, movement of peoples has occurred at numerous time points in prehistory and history, and over short distances as well as on continental and even intercontinental scales. Together, these events have heavily influenced the patterns in genetic diversity that we see today. Massively parallel sequencing coupled to advances in ancient genomics is adding tremendously to the growing literature on known and previously unknown migrations in the past, and how ancient gene flow events have shaped the present‐day human gene pool.

Towards the multileveled and processual conceptualisation of racialised individuals in biomedical research

“…In fact, people's migrations caused by environmental processes continue to 'mix up' human genes (Raghavan, 2018). For example, the current climate crisis (additionally strengthened by socio-cultural factors, such as armed conflicts or economic crises) is contributing to the increasingly frequent migration of representatives of many populations (Cattaneo et al, 2019;Hugo, 2011;Radel et al, 2018).…”