How are statistics and data science transforming advances in genetic sequencing into new insights about how people lived, formed families, and organised their societies thousands of years ago?

Our guests are Dr Adam “Ben” Rohrlach, an Australian statistician at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, and Dr Simon “Jono” Tuke, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. From their early collaboration during Ben’s PhD to their ongoing work today, they’ve combined mathematical rigour with archaeological and genetic research to help uncover patterns in ancient human life that would otherwise remain hidden.

Together, they’ve applied cutting-edge statistical methods to support major discoveries – including their contribution to the 2017 Eureka Prize–winning research confirming the connection between Aboriginal Australians and their ancestral lands.

In this conversation, we revisit that work and dive into their latest research, using ancient DNA to reconstruct family networks in a European society from over 1,300 years ago. It’s a fascinating look at how collaboration across disciplines – and the power of statistics – can bring us closer to understanding the lives of people from the distant past.

Our host is Dr Haripriya Sridharan – a MACSYS Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne.

Episode webpage:   https://www.therandomsample.com.au/podcast/ancient-dna/

 

How are&nbsp;statistics and data science transforming advances in genetic sequencing&nbsp;into new insights about how people lived, formed families, and organised their societies thousands of years ago?
Our guests are Dr Adam &ldquo;Ben&rdquo; Rohrlach, an Australian statistician at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, and Dr Simon &ldquo;Jono&rdquo; Tuke, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. From their early collaboration during Ben&rsquo;s PhD to their ongoing work today, they&rsquo;ve combined mathematical rigour with archaeological and genetic research to help uncover patterns in ancient human life that would otherwise remain hidden.
Together, they&rsquo;ve applied cutting-edge statistical methods to support major discoveries &ndash; including their contribution to the 2017 Eureka Prize&ndash;winning research confirming the connection between Aboriginal Australians and their ancestral lands.
In this conversation, we revisit that work and dive into their latest research, using ancient DNA to reconstruct family networks in a European society from over 1,300 years ago. It&rsquo;s a fascinating look at how collaboration across disciplines &ndash; and the power of statistics &ndash; can bring us closer to understanding the lives of people from the distant past.
Our host is Dr Haripriya Sridharan &ndash; a MACSYS Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne.
Episode webpage: &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.therandomsample.com.au/?post_type=podcast&amp;p=2154&amp;preview=true">https://www.therandomsample.com.au/podcast/ancient-dna/</a>
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Welcome to The Random Sample - a podcast from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems (MACSYS).  In this podcast, we share stories about mathematics, statistics, data science and the people involved. The Random Sample is also proud to have the support of these supporting partners: the Australian Data Science Network (ADSN), the Statistical Society of Australia (SSA), the Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS), the OPTIMA ARC Training Centre, the MATRIX Mathematical Research Institute, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). ACEMS created the podcast in 2018. For further resources and show notes, visit therandomsample.com.au

Welcome to The Random Sample - a podcast from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems (MACSYS).&nbsp; In this podcast, we share stories about mathematics, statistics, data science and the people involved. The Random Sample is also proud to have the support of these supporting partners: the Australian Data Science Network (ADSN), the Statistical Society of Australia (SSA), the Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS), the OPTIMA ARC Training Centre, the MATRIX Mathematical Research Institute, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). ACEMS created the podcast in 2018. For further resources and show notes, visit <a href="https://www.therandomsample.com.au/">therandomsample.com.au</a>

Stories about mathematics, statistics and the people involved

The Random Sample

Welcome to The Random Sample - a podcast from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems (MACSYS). In this podcast, we share stories about mathematics, statistics, data science and the people involved. The Random Sample is also proud to have the support of these supporting partners:  Australian Data Science Network (ADSN), Statistical Society of Australia (SSA), Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS), OPTIMA ARC Training Centre, MATRIX Mathematical Research Institute, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). ACEMS created the podcast in 2018. For further resources and show notes, visit therandomsample.com.au

Welcome to The Random Sample - a podcast from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems (MACSYS). In this podcast, we share stories about mathematics, statistics, data science and the people involved. The Random Sample is also proud to have the support of these supporting partners:&nbsp; Australian Data Science Network (ADSN), Statistical Society of Australia (SSA), Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS), OPTIMA ARC Training Centre, MATRIX Mathematical Research Institute, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). ACEMS created the podcast in 2018. For further resources and show notes, visit <a href="https://www.therandomsample.com.au/">therandomsample.com.au</a>