The Genographic Project
"New DNA studies suggest that all humans descended from a single African ancestor who lived some 60,000 years ago. To uncover the paths that lead from him to every living human, the National Geographic Society today launched the Genographic Project at its Washington, D.C., headquarters."
National geographic, IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation will collaborate in a five-year large scale worldwide DNA study, in which cheek swab samples are taken from diverse (and isolated) indigenous peoples as well as from the more general population in order to piece together a picture of how the earth was colonized by homosapiens.
(With the purchase of a kit containing all of the necessary materials for US $99.95, the general public are able to add their own genetic information to the growing database!)
By studying the Y chromosome and mitochondrial genome (passed down the maternal line), genetic markers can be identified that may be traced back to the point of origin, or when a new lineage began. Both the Y chromosome and mitrochondrial DNA do no undergo recombination, thus these regions of DNA remain basically unchanged through generations apart from random mutations. These identified mutations serve as the genetic markers for study. Prehistoric migration patterns may be tracked if lineages can be traced to a particular geographic region.
According to one project leader, "We need to take a genetic snapshot of who we are as a species before the geographical and cultural context are lost in the melting pot" (believing that the world is becoming less genetically and culturally diverse as a result of factors such as increased globalization, leading to a reduced isolation of groups of people).
It is estimated that more than 100,000 samples will be taken for lab and computational analysis, forming the world's largest DNA database.
Link to News article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/04/0413_050413_genographic.html
Link to the Genographic Project website: http://www5.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/
Shaun
National geographic, IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation will collaborate in a five-year large scale worldwide DNA study, in which cheek swab samples are taken from diverse (and isolated) indigenous peoples as well as from the more general population in order to piece together a picture of how the earth was colonized by homosapiens.
(With the purchase of a kit containing all of the necessary materials for US $99.95, the general public are able to add their own genetic information to the growing database!)
By studying the Y chromosome and mitochondrial genome (passed down the maternal line), genetic markers can be identified that may be traced back to the point of origin, or when a new lineage began. Both the Y chromosome and mitrochondrial DNA do no undergo recombination, thus these regions of DNA remain basically unchanged through generations apart from random mutations. These identified mutations serve as the genetic markers for study. Prehistoric migration patterns may be tracked if lineages can be traced to a particular geographic region.
According to one project leader, "We need to take a genetic snapshot of who we are as a species before the geographical and cultural context are lost in the melting pot" (believing that the world is becoming less genetically and culturally diverse as a result of factors such as increased globalization, leading to a reduced isolation of groups of people).
It is estimated that more than 100,000 samples will be taken for lab and computational analysis, forming the world's largest DNA database.
Link to News article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/04/0413_050413_genographic.html
Link to the Genographic Project website: http://www5.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/
Shaun
2 Comments:
More evidence for the ancient astronaught theory??? (Remember the Sphinx is believed to have had a negroid face).
More evidence for the ancient astronaught theory??? (Remember the Sphinx is believed to have had a negroid face).
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