Coalescent theory
Coalescent theory is like playing a game with marbles - each marble represents a different individual's DNA. Imagine that you and your friends all have your own marbles, and your marbles have different colors and patterns to represent the differences in your DNA.
Now, let's say that you and your friends are all part of the same family. The coalescent theory helps explain how far back in time all of your marbles, or DNA, can be traced back to a common ancestor.
Imagine you and your friends all put your marbles in a bag and shook it up. Then, you picked two marbles out of the bag at random. The coalescent theory says that if those two marbles are the same color or pattern, then they both came from the same ancestor.
So, if you and your friend each have a green marble and you pick out two green marbles, it's like those marbles are telling a story about a shared ancestor that you and your friends have in common.
Coalescent theory looks at all of the different ways that marbles can be picked and compared, and uses that information to help understand how far back in time you can trace the shared ancestry of a group of individuals.
Now, let's say that you and your friends are all part of the same family. The coalescent theory helps explain how far back in time all of your marbles, or DNA, can be traced back to a common ancestor.
Imagine you and your friends all put your marbles in a bag and shook it up. Then, you picked two marbles out of the bag at random. The coalescent theory says that if those two marbles are the same color or pattern, then they both came from the same ancestor.
So, if you and your friend each have a green marble and you pick out two green marbles, it's like those marbles are telling a story about a shared ancestor that you and your friends have in common.
Coalescent theory looks at all of the different ways that marbles can be picked and compared, and uses that information to help understand how far back in time you can trace the shared ancestry of a group of individuals.