A question of scale: Human migrations writ large and small

摘要

Several recent papers illustrate the importance of migration and gene flow in molding the patterns of genetic variation observed in humans today. We place the varied demographic processes covered by these terms into a more general framework, and discuss some of the challenges facing attempts to reconstruct past human mobility and determine its influence on our genetic heritage. See research articles: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/15 and http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/11/18