| Title: | Testing the role of positive selection in recent rises of disease incidences |
| Lead Institution: | University of Michigan |
| Principal investigator: | Professor Jianzhi Zhang |
Application 48678
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About
A number of human diseases are known to have risen in prevalence in the last few decades, and many potential causes have been proposed and explored. We are particularly interested in the possibility that this increase in disease prevalence is attributable to natural selection either for the disease phenotype or phenotypes caused by the mutations associated with the disease. We propose to use UK Biobank to (i) confirm the increase in disease prevalence, (ii) examine changes in the frequencies of disease-associated alleles, and (iii) test whether such allele frequency changes indicate natural selection. Our analyses will help understand changes in disease prevalence in the contemporary human population, which can guide the search for novel therapies or prevention methods. Thus, our project fits the purpose of UK Biobank to "improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illness and promotion of health throughout society".5 Publications
| Pub ID | Title | Author(s) | Year | Journal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7830 | Contraception ends the genetic maintenance of human same-sex sexual behavior | Siliang Song (+1) | 2023 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| 10154 | Evidence for the Role of Selection for Reproductively Advantageous Alleles in Human Aging | Erping Long (+1) | 2024 | Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey |
| 9203 | Evidence for the role of selection for reproductively advantageous alleles in human aging | Erping Long (+1) | 2023 | Science Advances |
| 9006 | Genetic variants underlying human bisexual behavior are reproductively advantageous | Siliang Song (+1) | 2024 | Science Advances |
| 7496 | Natural selection contributes to the myopia epidemic | Erping Long (+1) | 2020 | National Science Review |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health