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SUMMARY:Keeping positive: protein evolution and the tree of life - Gregory
  Jordan (Darwin College)
DTSTART:20090219T130000Z
DTEND:20090219T134500Z
UID:TALK16792@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr James Kirkbride
DESCRIPTION:In the study of evolution\, useful features are often identifi
 ed because of their *constraint*\, or evolutionary persistence through tim
 e. For example: once animals evolved eyes (a very useful organ)\, they wer
 e retained in all subsequent generations.\n\nSimilarly\, biological molecu
 les such as proteins also show signals of constraint: the more important p
 arts of proteins\, such as the catalytic core\, are generally better conse
 rved.\n\nHowever\, there has been much interest in identifying what is kno
 wn as *positive* Darwinian selection\, whereby *change* is favoured over c
 onstraint. I will discuss my recent work on pinpointing positive selection
  in vertebrate genomes and how these issues relate to larger questions in 
 biology.
LOCATION:Entertaining Room\, Darwin College
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