The Genographic Team has been in New Zealand this week, working with people of Pacific as well as European and other heritages to trace their genetic history. Each person does this by just rubbing a cotton swab inside his or her cheek. We will then take the tiny resulting DNA sample and compare it with…
Kia ora, or Hello from Gisborne, a small city on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Just west of the International date line, Gisborne claimed for years to be the first city in the world to see each new day’s sunrise, but for political reasons the title is now held by…
DNA from the skeleton of an ancient boy from Montana may just hold clues revealing who the first Native Americans were and where they came from. A recent paper in the journal Nature details the results from the 12,500-year-old infant boy’s genome. The boy, nicknamed Anzick-1 in reference to the owner of the land where…
Two-hundred university students trudged through the snowy New York City streets to swab their cheeks and trace their ancient ancestry with the Genographic Project on Monday evening at the American Museum of Natural History. Students from over eight local Universities were given the unique opportunity to test their DNA with the Geno 2.0 DNA Ancestry…
Most participants of National Geographic’s Genographic Project can recite their haplogroup as readily as their mother’s maiden name. Yet outside consumer genetics, the word haplogroup is still unknown. Your haplogroup, or genetic branch of the human family tree, tells you about your deep ancestry—often thousands of years ago—and shows you the possible paths of migration…
Anthropological fieldwork and laboratory analysis have been at the core of the Genographic Project since its launch in 2005. Working at that core are scientists from eleven regional research centers spread around the globe collaborating with local indigenous populations to gather and analyze genetic data. In addition to DNA sampling and analysis, learning about the…
By Colby Bishop, The Genographic Project Hundreds of County Mayo, Ireland residents gathered earlier this week to learn first hand what their DNA could show them about their ancient past. From Viking ancestry to descending from Niall of the Nine Hostages, the genetics of County Mayo proved intriguing, reaching far beyond Guinness and the rolling…
The popularity of recent news reports on the DNA of the mummy Ötzi remind us that genetic breakthroughs are reaching far beyond white-lab-coat laboratories. Right now, the cost of DNA testing is affordable, genetic research is growing exponentially, and finally—legally speaking—your DNA is yours. Will 2013 be remembered as the year that genetics went main stream?…
The popularity of recent news reports on the DNA of the mummy Ötzi remind us that genetic breakthroughs are reaching far beyond white-lab-coat laboratories. Right now, the cost of DNA testing is affordable, genetic research is growing exponentially, and finally—legally speaking—your DNA is yours. Will 2013 be remembered as the year that genetics went main stream?…
The name Micronesia, meaning small islands, describes the region well since most of these are small atolls, less than 80 square miles. I’m among the beautiful Marianas islands of western Micronesia, more specifically in Guam to meet the Chamorro people, and to see if together we could unlock some of the mysteries hidden in their DNA….
The name Micronesia, meaning small islands, describes the region well since most of these are small atolls, less than 80 square miles. I’m among the beautiful Marianas islands of western Micronesia, more specifically in Guam to meet the Chamorro people, and to see if together we could unlock some of the mysteries hidden in their DNA….
Europe’s Stone Age settlers migrated in waves that replaced older hunter-gatherer cultures, suggests a study that looks at European DNA, both ancient and modern. The results reported in the journal, Science, answer questions about the peopling of modern-day Europe. Some of our ancestors hunted wild animals and gathered plants to survive, while others were discovering agriculture, and…
When National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Robert Ballard, best known for his discovery of the R.M.S. Titanic, first participated in the Genographic Project, he expected to confirm what he already knew of his British-Dutch ancestry. But could his DNA tell him more about his ancient relatives? Dr. Ballard decided to “swab” with National Geographic’s Genographic Project to…
When National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Robert Ballard, best known for his discovery of the R.M.S. Titanic, first participated in the Genographic Project, he expected to confirm what he already knew of his British-Dutch ancestry. But could his DNA tell him more about his ancient relatives? Dr. Ballard decided to “swab” with National Geographic’s Genographic Project to…
2013 is a big year for Ireland. The Emerald Isle is calling her people home for a celebration of all things Irish in a year-long program, The Gathering: Ireland 2013. Featuring everything from music festivals to Guinness World Record competitions (check out the Town of 1000 Beards gathering), the event marks the biggest tourism initiative ever…