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Evaluating signatures of sex-specific processes in the human genome

Comparing levels of genetic variation between the X chromosome and autosomes can reveal the different demographic histories of males and females of a species. Taking this approach, two new studies report that the effective population sizes of men and women differ, but they disagree as to which sex outnumbered the other.

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Figure 1: Contrasting patterns of X-chromosomal and autosomal diversity.

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Correspondence to Carlos D Bustamante.

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Bustamante, C., Ramachandran, S. Evaluating signatures of sex-specific processes in the human genome. Nat Genet 41, 8–10 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0109-8

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