Equation 6 · Part 2 · Human Evolution Did Not Stop, and Medicine Is Now Steering It
Symbol q_n
What this part means
is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.
Its job in the formula
is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.
Full expression→Symbol q_n→Article meaning
The passage around this formula
Set s = 1 , the theoretical maximum in which every affected embryo is detected and never implanted: for q = 0.01 , this gives = /(1+) 0.009901 , a reduction of under one-tenth of one percent of the allele’s frequency in a single generation, even at total, universal, perfectly effective screening. The reason the effect is so small is structural, not a modeling artifact: for a rare recessive allele, the overwhelming majority of copies are carried silently in heterozygous carriers, invisible to any selection that acts only on homozygotes, and embryo selection — like natural selection against recessive disease before it — can only ever act on the small fraction of matings…
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Sources cited in the article section
- [15] Utilization of Preimplantation Genetic Testing in the USA ↗
- [16] Mitochondrial Donation Treatment ↗
These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.