Sep
02
2009
There are many examples around the world of two distinct ethnic groups living side by side.
Sometimes these groups co-exist peacefully. Other times they do not.
Often two groups’ differences – along with circumstantial factors – lead to tension between them and sometimes violence. The Hutus and Tutsis of Rwanda, the Sunnis and Shiites of Iraq, and [...]
Tags: Ethnicity, genetic diversity, mitochondrial DNA, Tajik, Turk, Y-chromosome
Apr
30
2009
When scientific research is published, the authors often confess that they wish they’d collected more data. Critical reviews of research studies often say the same thing. Indeed, if there’s anything scientists love, it’s more data.
Which is why the members of an international team of genetic anthropologists led by Sarah Tishkoff of the University of [...]
Tags: Africa, ancestry, genetic diversity, genetics, language, out of africa, prehistory
Feb
21
2008
If you take two members of the human race at random and ask how much their genomes differ, you’ll get a surprising answer: they’re almost identical.
On average, for every 1,000 DNA bases you have, 999 or so of them are exactly the same between you and your neighbor – and for that matter, between you [...]
Tags: 23andMe, CEPH-HGDP, genetic diversity, Nature, Science