Anonymous A. answered • 08/23/21
MS in Biology Researching Phylogeography and Systematics
Statistics are what we use to make data meaningful; they help us identify and interpret patterns in datasets. There are many types of genetic datasets and we use statistics to identify and interpret patterns in the genome or across many genomes. One example of a genetic test statistic is Tajima's D, which assesses genetic diversity within a population to predict whether that population is evolving neutrally or if some other process is occurring, such as demographic expansion and contraction. I won't dive into the details in this answer, but here is a great video explaining Tajima's D if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiyay4YMq2A&t=330s
The point being that these statistics help us say something about the data we get from sequencing DNA. The human genome has 3.2 billion base pairs in it, so we have to find some way to tease apart all of that information and find something meaningful; that's why statistics are important tools for genetics.
