Science Common Sense

1619 - What is population genetics?

Population genetics is the study of how groups of living things, like animals or plants, pass on their traits from one generation to the next. It looks at how many individuals have certain characteristics, like eye color or height, and how those traits change or stay the same over time.

Imagine you're studying a group of birds. You want to know why some birds have blue feathers and some have brown feathers. Population genetics helps you figure out how the birds' genes, which are like instructions in their DNA, affect the color of their feathers. It also looks at how the birds' environment and how they interact with each other can change the way those genes are passed on.