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Human genomic data have different statistical properties than the data of randomised controlled trials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2023

Mirjam J. Borger Open the ORCID record for Mirjam J. Borger [Opens in a new window] ,
Franz J. Weissing Open the ORCID record for Franz J. Weissing [Opens in a new window]  and
Eva Boon Open the ORCID record for Eva Boon [Opens in a new window]
Mirjam J. Borger
Affiliation:
Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands m.j.borger@rug.nl; f.j.weissing@rug.nl; e.boon@rug.nl https://www.marmgroup.eu/
Franz J. Weissing
Affiliation:
Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands m.j.borger@rug.nl; f.j.weissing@rug.nl; e.boon@rug.nl https://www.marmgroup.eu/
Eva Boon
Affiliation:
Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands m.j.borger@rug.nl; f.j.weissing@rug.nl; e.boon@rug.nl https://www.marmgroup.eu/
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Abstract

Madole & Harden argue that the Mendelian reshuffling of genes and genomes is analogous to randomised controlled trials. We are not convinced by their arguments. First, their recipe for meeting the demands on randomised experiments is inherently inconsistent. Second, disequilibrium across chromosomes conflicts with their assumption of statistical independence. Third, the genome-wide association study (GWAS) method has many pitfalls, including low repeatability.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e184
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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