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DNA, Mutations, and Evolution
Item type: Book Chapter
Trubenová B.; Hudáková K.; Uecker H.; et al. (2026)
This chapter begins by reviewing the foundational elements of genetics, including the structure of DNA, the universal genetic code, and the various types of mutations that create genetic diversity. It provides a useful background on the process of DNA replication, compares the key differences between DNA and RNA, and introduces the RNA world hypothesis as a theory for the origin of life. Drawing on several well-known examples, we explore the link between specific mutations and the traits they cause. Finally, we illustrate how the interplay of inheritance, the continuous introduction of mutations, and the process of natural selection together serve as the primary mechanisms driving evolution.
Out of Africa
Item type: Book Chapter
Trubenová B.; Sachdeva H.; Hudáková K. (2026)
In this chapter, we will explore how genetics aids scientists in understanding human origins through the analysis of human DNA. Our focus will be on two parts of the genome that do not recombine: mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is inherited from the mother, and the Y-chromosome, which is passed down from the father. We will explain how researchers trace lineages back to a single matrilineal ancestor, known as Mitochondrial Eve (mt-Eve), and a single patrilineal ancestor, referred to as Y-chromosomal Adam (Y-Adam). Additionally, we will introduce the concept of the molecular clock, which allows us to reconstruct the migratory routes of our ancestors across the globe.
Evolution in Action
Item type: Book Chapter
Sachdeva H.; Trubenová B.; Hudáková K. (2026)
In this chapter, we introduce the basic principles of biological evolution using examples of rapid evolutionary change that can be observed over the course of a human lifespan. We first describe how our ancestors domesticated common agricultural crops and use the example of domestication to illustrate the three key features of Darwin’s theory of evolution: heredity, variation and selection. The chapter also discusses examples of rapid adaptation in the wild, where selection pressures, e.g. due to predation or pathogens, may be extreme and unpredictable. Finally, we take a detour into the fascinating field of experimental evolution, where laboratory experiments with bacteria are providing increasing insight into the predictability of evolution over timescales spanning tens of thousands of bacterial generations.
RAPIDS: Reliable Adaptive Priority-based Intelligent Delivery Streaming for Enhanced Error Resilience in Real-time Video
Item type: Conference Paper
Zhang D.; Wang X.; Chen W.; et al. (2026)
Real-time video streaming (RVS) has become the Internet's dominant application, supporting latency-critical services from telemedicine to remote collaboration. However, stringent latency requirements force RVS systems to rely on UDP-based transport that tolerates packet loss, creating reliability challenges. Packet loss, whether from congestion or transmission errors, creates two irreconcilable failure modes: if corrupted reference frames are displayed, prediction errors propagate through all dependent frames, causing severe visual degradation; if packets are retransmitted aggressively, latency accumulates beyond real-time tolerances. This dilemma cannot be resolved within either layer independently: transport-layer mechanisms like retransmission or FEC exacerbate congestion, while codec-layer solutions like bitrate reduction degrade visual quality.We present RAPIDS, a codec-transport co-design that resolves this impasse through dynamic dependency restructuring. RAPIDS employs a deep reinforcement learning controller to adaptively designate frames as reference or non-reference based on real-time network conditions, effectively decoupling frame importance from encoding structure. This semantic information guides a partially reliable QUIC transport to implement differentiated protection: critical reference frames receive guaranteed delivery via retransmission, while non-reference frames can be proactively discarded under congestion to bound latency. Extensive evaluation on 1000+ real-world network traces demonstrates 28-50% QoS improvement over WebRTC, Salsify, and SODA, with a 4-5× faster error recovery during traffic bursts and network outages.
Complex Genetics of Complex Traits
Item type: Book Chapter
Hledík M.; Sachdeva H.; Trubenová B. (2026)
In this chapter, we discuss the evolution of complex traits influenced by multiple genes and environmental factors. Using human height as an example, we demonstrate the relationship between the number of genes affecting a trait and the continuous variation in trait values observed across individuals in a population. Then, we explore how the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to trait variation can be disentangled, leading to the concept of trait heritability. We also describe how complex traits respond to selection and how the short-term response can be predicted from the breeder’s equation. Finally, we discuss complex diseases such as type II diabetes and the potential of genomics, particularly large-scale genome-wide association studies, for identifying the genes underlying variation in disease risk between individuals.