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→Rise in mutations
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== Rise in mutations == | == Rise in mutations == | ||
Some evidence suggests that there are more people with deleterious mutations in the human population due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: milder ecological conditions, modern medicine,<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9371795/</ref> advanced paternal age<ref>https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/parental-age-different-impact-autism-schizophrenia/</ref> and especially due to much lower infant mortality.<ref>https://doi.org10.1007/s40806-017-0084-x</ref> Due to the economic cost associated with a degraded gene pool, the [[wikipedia:demographic transition|demographic transition]] can be considered an instance of the [[wikipedia:tragedy of the commons|tragedy of the commons]] as the externalities of the degraded gene pool are foisted off on future generations at the benefit of avoiding the near-term costs of having women birth many children (rather than work) and high mortality selection pressure on the offspring. | Some evidence suggests that there are more people with deleterious mutations in the human population due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: milder ecological conditions, modern medicine,<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9371795/</ref> advanced paternal age<ref>https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/parental-age-different-impact-autism-schizophrenia/</ref> and especially due to much lower infant mortality.<ref>https://doi.org10.1007/s40806-017-0084-x</ref> Due to the economic cost associated with a degraded gene pool, the [[wikipedia:demographic transition|demographic transition]] can be considered an instance of the [[wikipedia:tragedy of the commons|tragedy of the commons]] as the externalities of the degraded gene pool are foisted off on future generations at the benefit of avoiding the near-term costs of having women birth many children (rather than work) and a high mortality selection pressure on the offspring. | ||
Given the complex nature and function of the human brain, one would expect it to be particularly vulnerable to deleterious mutations,<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23153596/</ref> which may be reflected in the apparent rise in the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders, as it has been argued that up to 30% of cases of this condition in simplex families (where only one member has the condition) could be attributed to ''de novo'' mutations.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26401017/</ref> | Given the complex nature and function of the human brain, one would expect it to be particularly vulnerable to deleterious mutations,<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23153596/</ref> which may be reflected in the apparent rise in the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders, as it has been argued that up to 30% of cases of this condition in simplex families (where only one member has the condition) could be attributed to ''de novo'' mutations.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26401017/</ref> | ||