Vox, when will The Frozen Gene be available in hard cover?
Probably in May. I have an important new paper to finish and add to it first.
Mutation-selection balance theory predicts that segregating deleterious load increases as purifying selection weakens. The Selective Turnover Coefficient (d), measuring the fraction of reproductive value removed by selection per generation, has declined approximately 35-fold in human populations since the Neolithic (d ≈ 0.53 → 0.015), with most of the decline post-1900 (Day & Athos 2025a). Using 11,086 European samples from the Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR v62.0) genotyped on the Human Origins panel, we computed per-individual constrained-to-neutral derived allele burden ratios across seven time bins spanning ~8,000 years. This ratio rose from 0.5254 (Early Neolithic) to 0.5528 (Modern), with the increase concentrated in the post-medieval period (t = 16.91, P = 4.94 × 10⁻⁶²). Neutral-site burden remained stable, ruling out demographic and methodological confounds. We situate these results alongside the Wakayama et al. (2026) serial cloning experiment demonstrating mammalian Muller’s Ratchet, and present falsifiable predictions for evaluating the trajectory in subsequent generations.