Aug
07
2008
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 [...]
Tags: ancestry, evolution, mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA, Neanderthals
Jun
27
2008
This month I had the opportunity to go to the Society of Molecular Biology and Evolution conference in the striking city of Barcelona. This is the premiere conference for geneticists studying evolution in everything from bacteria to fruit flies, weeds, worms and our favorite model organism, humans! This is a highly interactive conference: almost everyone [...]
Tags: ancestry, evolution, Jimmy Buffet, maternal ancestry, mtDNA, Stone Age
Jun
16
2008
Jesse James
One of the most engaging features of 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service is a customer’s ability to trace his or her genetic ancestry using the mitochondrial DNA and the Y-chromosome. Once customers learn their own ancestry, the Genome Sharing feature allows them to see how they compare with friends and family.
However, the ancestry section of [...]
Tags: 23andMe, DNA, Genghis Khan, Jesse James, Jimmy Buffett, mitochondrial, mtDNA, Warren Buffett, Y-chromosome