I used the Python code in GitHub https://github.com/chrisfalter/PopGen that @Chris_Falter set up as a set of requirements for our Computer Science II class (Java). The students implemented the algorithm and put a simple UI on top of it. In this class we also read most of the @swamidass book to generate interest on how computer science and questions of faith can work nicely with one another.
Starting in the Fall, I am planning on doing much more. We have a STEM Day scheduled for the fall (in October) and I plan on having our senior capstone project class take the current GitHub code and put a nice UI on it to show high school students how CS and questions of faith can work nicely with one another.
Sometime in October I expect to have a demo that anyone who is interested can run and give specific feedback.
After the STEM Day, I plan on spending the rest of the fall and the spring semester having students take this to the next level. We will look at SLIM as well as some of the other ideas that were given in the original thread.
If there are other ideas of how to move this forward, I would love to hear them.
@tdarr-okbu one of the most helpful things to start with would be putting this map into a digital format, and trying to replicate the Nature 2004 findings with an improved framework.
A few odd things about that map: 1) no arrow connecting Tasmania to anything else; 2) no arrow connecting the Orkneys (?) to the mainland or to Britain (?); 3) Combined island for Greenland and Iceland. One also wonders if it should consider barriers that are not water or narrow isthmuses. I would imagine at least reduced gene flow across the Himalayas and the Sahara.
It is also missing the silk road and several known long range dispersal events.
This is the best and most accurate simulation of genealogical ancestry, but it certainly could be better. I’d like to see what could be done if we parameterized migration using genetic data.
All - we are ready to start working on this next week. I’d like to have some input from this group if possible. Our class meets MWF 12:00 to 12:50 pm central time.
Would anyone be able to volunteer their time to be the “voice of the customer?” We will probably setup a GitHub project to track tasks, so folks can contribute in that way as well.
Thank you for your offer and I apologize for the delayed responses. We are planning on having something in the next few months that we could share. Think of it as a framework that is a starting point for researchers who are interested in this topic.
We were not able to get into the advanced SLIM simulation features, but hopefully we have something that we could plug advanced capabilities into.
I will be posting some information on what we accomplished shortly. We did not get as far as I hoped (poor planning on my part), but next year’s class will be devoting much more time to it.
