Twigstats

09.01.2025

Twigstats

Why in the news?   

           In a recent study published in Nature, researchers introduced Twigstats, a new time-stratified ancestry analysis, and applied it to ancient whole-genomes from Europe.

About Twigstats:

• It is a time-stratified ancestry analysis tool that boosts the statistical power of existing methods by a magnitude and reduces statistical errors.
• It has determined more precisely than ever individual-level ancestry at a very high resolution.
• It is coded in C++ and employing the statistical language R.
• It allows researchers to focus on a specific period in history with more fine-grained analysis than previously possible.

Techniques used for Genetic analysis:

• Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs): This method has been extensively used to reconstruct genetic histories and ancestry models using ancient genetic material (aDNA).

○The analysis of SNPs is a powerful technique when the task is to understand populations, but it’s restricted by the need for high quality DNA samples and its inability to resolve the histories of groups with closely related ancestors.

• Haplotypes Method: This method captures information from haplotype-sharing or identity-by-descent and a rare variant simultaneously includes time-resolved information about genetic ancestry, and provides comprehensive insights into how individuals ‘share’ their ancestors.
• Genealogical tree inference method: Researchers have applied this to modern and ancient genomes to understand their population structure, demographics, locations of ancestors, etc.

                                                                  Source: The Hindu

Which one of the following best describes Twigstats, recently seen in the news?

A.It is a new mineral found in the Pacific Ocean

B.It is a time-stratified ancestry analysis tool

C.It is a World Health Organisation’s initiative to identify new viruses

D.It is an AI tool to identify illegal arms supply across the world

Answer B