Archive for the tag 'mitochondrial DNA'

Sep 02 2009

New Study on Genetics of Ethnic Groups Reveals We May Not Be So Different After All

Published by AnneH under big questions, news

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 [...]

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Jun 09 2009

Recalibrating the Genetic Clock: Scientists Develop New and Improved Method for Timing Prehistoric Human Migrations Using Mitochondrial DNA

Published by AnneH under news

Just over 20 years ago, the first study using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to trace prehistoric human migrations was published. In this seminal study, scientists managed to determine that all humans alive today can trace their maternal ancestry back to one woman who lived about 200,000 years ago in Africa. The findings were revolutionary, and [...]

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Jan 08 2009

One if by Land, Two if by Sea: New Genetics Study Indicates Multiple Paleo-Indian Migration Routes

Published by AnneH under big questions, genetics 101, news

It seems like new discoveries about the peopling of the Americas are a dime a dozen these days.  Without a doubt, the journey those first Americans took from the frozen wastelands of Asia down the Pacific coast into the Americas has been an active research subject for many decades.  Archaeologists, linguists, and now geneticists have [...]

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Nov 18 2008

23andMe Scientists Offer Solution to Apparent Mutation Rate Discrepancy

Published by brennah under inside 23andMe, news

This guest post is by Brenna Henn, a doctoral student in Stanford University’s Department of Anthropology and a 23andMe consultant. Brenna studies human evolution using genetic information. Her interests include the origin of modern humans, migration patterns among African groups, and genetic models of demography.

One of the reasons genetics is such a powerful tool for [...]

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Oct 08 2008

Who Built the Terracotta Army? The Genetic Origins of the Qin Dynasty Mausoleum Workers

Published by AnneH under big questions

One of the most infamous emperors of Chinese antiquity was the very first:  Qin Shi Huang.  Also known as Ying Zheng, he ruled the Chinese state of Qin from 247-210 BC.  When he came to power, various Chinese kingdoms were engaged in a struggle against each other for superiority; by the time he died in [...]

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Aug 07 2008

Did Neanderthals and Humans Mate? The Answer, Again, is No

Published by ErinC under news

Despite mounting genetic evidence that modern humans are not descended from Neanderthals, there are still some who argue that our two species interbred when both roamed Europe about 35,000 years ago.
A report appearing tomorrow in the journal Cell puts another nail in that theory’s coffin. Svante Paabo’s group at the Max Planck Institute for Anthropology [...]

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Mar 07 2008

The Amazing Journey: A New Synthesis for the Peopling of America

Published by MattC under news

People who study the spread of humans to the Americas can agree on one thing – the first migrants crossed from Asia by way of a land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska.
Just about everything else is subject to debate: who the people were, where they originated, when they migrated, how numerous they were and what [...]

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