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Global DNA Project to Study Human Ancestry
Steve writes "The National Geographic Society and IBM are teaming up to map the history of human migration using DNA. The Genographic Project aims to collect 100,000 genetic samples which will be used trace the movements of humans out of Africa and around the globe. While the most useful samples will come from indiginous populations, members of the general public will be able to mail in their own DNA on special cheek swabs."
While the most useful samples will come from indiginous populations, members of the general public will be able to mail in their own DNA on special cheek swabs. for only $100.00 plus ship/handling"
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http://unk1911.blogspot.com
will come from indigenous populations
The following statement is true
The preceding statement is false
Some research on this was done before.
There was also this fellow, British I think, who did a documentary about early human migration using genetics, he was on TV (PBS?) a few years back. Nice work. He showed that there were two waves out of Africa. One hugged the coastline reaching India then all the way to Australia, and another going to central Asia, then staying there for a while, and then a branch going west to Europe, and another going east to Siberia, Beringia, and eventually to the Americans. Can't remember his name. Rats!
Some other resources:
Scientists trace human migration using DNA.
Wikipedia article on Human migration.
Stephen Oppenheimer did a genetic map.
Kurgan Genetics.
Neanderthaals and mtDNA
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Africa as a starting point is relatively unquestioned. Even theories which point to reverse migration back into Africa still acknowledge it as the point of origin.
;-)
The first man being "Adam" is a geneticist convention. Given that the Y-chromosome remains unaltered during reproduction aside from mutation and retrovirus based alterations, and the differences in modern day Y-chromosomes are extremely small within humanity, but (relatively speaking) extremely large with other primates, there have been several theories pointing to either one, or a very small number of males that acted as the progenitors for modern day humans.
For the last, those maps already exist, based on years of study, they are probably using them as a basis for study to confirm or refute specific branches. It's known as a hypothesis, scientists use them occasionally.
-ShadowRanger
For the recrod, this isn't the first study of human migratory patterns. Many migration routes are now well established, whereas others are in debate and should be studied further. This study will help establish better timelines, settle controversies, and maybe even provide fresh theories to be tested. They are not "fitting data to preconceived notions" just because they are using the current body of knowledge as a starting point for their study.
AFAIK the African origins of humankind are fairly well established. The fact that genetic anthropologists decided to call the oldest known common male ancestor "adam" and the oldest female one "eve" just shows that they have a sense of humour and history, not that what they do is quackery.
So, yes, it is science.
Doesn't this bother anyone else?
Usually, when you set out to do research you have alternative hypotheses that you test the same way as the hypothesis you hold dear to your heart -- this is the scientist's way of tricking himself into not lying to himself.
It's called strong inference. They should use it before the lose it.
Seastead this.
> Firstly, the contention that human's originated
> from Africa is highly debatable.
Uh, no... it's not. Too much evidence from too many disparate fields. Most Creationists still aren't ready to accept it, but I wouldn't call that much of a debate. Linguistics, archeology, paleontology, genetics, etc... all point to the widely established theory that Africa is the orginial home of the hominids, we sapiens included.
> DNA evidence suggests the possibility of a single "mitochondrial Eve" as she is referred to. Exactly how does DNA evidence go against the majority of religious beliefs anyway?
The failure of the US school system is appalling at times.
Please go read up on what the term "mitochondrial Eve" actually refers to. Here's a hint: she wasn't the first human.
This has already been done/started years ago. http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=human+genome+d iversity+project
http://www.cytoscape.org/
"Cytoscape is an open source bioinformatics software platform for visualizing molecular interaction networks and integrating these interactions with gene expression profiles and other state data."
http://www.geneontology.org/
"The goal of the Gene Ontology project is to produce a controlled vocabulary that can be applied to all organisms even as knowledge of gene and protein roles in cells is accumulating and changing. GO provides three structured networks of defined terms to describe gene product attributes. GO is one of the controlled vocabularies of the Open Biomedical Ontologies."
I already posted the response below in another section of this thread, but since your innacurate claims are getting so much notice, here it goes again.
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So the totalitarian regime in power in Germany from 1933 to 1945 used IBM equipment. They also used products from lots of other companies that exist today, does that make them all evil accomplices? From IBM's statement about this book,
http://www-1.ibm.com/press/PressServletForm.wss
"It has been known for decades that the Nazis used Hollerith equipment and that IBM's German subsidiary during the 1930s -- Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen GmbH (Dehomag) -- supplied Hollerith equipment. As with hundreds of foreign-owned companies that did business in Germany at that time, Dehomag came under the control of Nazi authorities prior to and during World War II. It is also widely known that Thomas J. Watson, Sr., received and subsequently repudiated and returned a medal presented to him by the German government for his role in global economic relations."
and a follow-up statement from 2002, a year later:
http://www-1.ibm.com/press/PressServletForm.wss
Now let me ask you this: would you buy a vehicle from Volkswagen or Mercedes-Benz? Both were used extensively by the Third Reich. Does that mean we should all hate and boycott these companies 60+ years later?
After all, the original Volkswagen was designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche for use in the Sahara Desert by the German Africakorp. Hitler's army didn't just buy the vehicles off the shelf. Dr. Porsche was specifically instructed by them to design an air-cooled vehicle for the military.
Times change, people learn. Don't try to make everyone guilty by association, especially when it's so tenuous.
And for the record I'm proud to work for IBM.
about 60,000 years ago, the population of homo sapiens sapiens was reduced to ~2000. The current hypothesis is that the supervolcano under Yellowstone erupted and caused world-wide havoc on the ecosystem causing mass die-offs in populations.
Yes, about 74,000 years ago.
Yes, there is a supervolcano under Yellowstone. And it could blow anytime on a geological time scale. But it hasn't erupted for about 600,000 years.
The Toba supervolcano in Indonesia is deemed responsible for the genetic bottleneck observed in human DNA, IIRC.
"Provided by the management for your protection."
This is one of the really amazong stories to come out of modern genetics. There is an excellent book (for all people not just scientists) called The Seven Daughters of Eve which guides you thorugh the basics of the science. (The title despite its religious overtone is really about the 7 women that 95% of all Europeans can trace their ancestry to).
There are also technical papers (there are tons but these are good places to start) here and here (this one discusses the long unknown origins of Pacific Islanders which was one of the early successes of this technique).
This study is an incredible combination of biologic science and social science, which could has the possibility to answer questions that are not able to be answered by traditional archaelogy and anthropology. It is quite amazing to think that our ancestry has been preserved, not in rock and artifact, but in our own living bodies.
Because cell samples from male participants contain Y chromosomes as well as mitochondrial DNA (the latter which they inherited from their mothers). The point being, male participants provide more of the genetic material used in these tests than females do. Actually, for each male participant, the testing of one woman (his biological mother) becomes redundant.
Still, I think there are other factors in favor of having both males and females participate:
According to the Genographic project FAQ, male samples will be subject to the Y-DNA test only, which looks like a wasted opportunity to me. However, it could be that male participants will be suggested to upgrade their tests with Family Tree DNA if they want the mtDNA test too. I have sent mail to National Geographic asking them to clarify that particular answer.