What are molecular clocks based on?

Answer 1

The molecular clock is based on the mutation rate of bio molecules. This is used to deduce the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverged.

The biomolecular data used for such calculations are usually nucleotide sequences for DNA or amino acid sequences for proteins.

The benchmarks for determining the mutation rates are often fossil or archaeological dates.

It is commonly used in molecular evolution to estimate times of speciation or radiation.

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Answer 2

Elias Aboujaoude

By comparing the variations in the DNA or protein sequences of different species, scientists can determine the divergence times between them. Molecular clocks are predicated on the idea that mutations happen at a relatively constant rate over time.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.