Gene search finds surprises on family tree
As a Florida accountant learned recently, advances in genetic research have made it possible to turn up interesting facts about one’s forebears.
The accountant — presumably mild-mannered — was told recently that he was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, the Mongol warrior who conquered an empire in Europe and Asia in the 13th century.
Tom Robinson immediately detected Kahn’s traits in his own personality. “When I practiced as a CPA, I ran the department,” he said.
Robinson traced his ancestry by sending his DNA to Oxford Ancestors, a program offered by Oxford University geneticist Bryan Sykes.
Sykes believes that men who carry a particular form of the Y chromosome can be traced to Khan, who distributed his DNA widely by raping the women he conquered.
His project is far from the only one of its kind. One of the most ambitious is the five-year project begun last year by the National Geographic Society and IBM. The goal of the Genographic Project is to collect more than a hundred thousand DNA samples to create the largest gene bank in the world.
“This project will show us some of the routes early humans followed to populate the globe and paint a picture of the genetic tapestry that connects us all,” project leader Spencer Wells said in the society’s magazine.
Some African Americans have turned to DNA testing to trace their roots. In the PBS program “African American Lives” Henry Louis Gates, head of Harvard’s Afro-American Studies program, worked with genetic researchers to learn about his own background.
According to the PBS Web site, Gates had always known that his family line included white ancestors. Family lore had it that a slave owner named Brady was a family ancestor. But genetic research showed it was more likely that one of his ancestors was a female Irish indentured servant. “Here I’m thinking I’m a Brady and maybe I’m from Nigeria, and here I am descended from some white woman. It’s incredible,” Gates told Newsweek.
Conclusions drawn in the burgeoning field of genetic genealogy probably should come with a disclaimer that they are often based on probability, not certainty.
Nonetheless the research provides fascinating insight into both personal histories and the overall history of the human race.
Some believe that answers to many of life’s nagging questions can be found through candid self-examination. In the 21st century that advice apparently can be taken literally.
The accountant — presumably mild-mannered — was told recently that he was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, the Mongol warrior who conquered an empire in Europe and Asia in the 13th century.
Tom Robinson immediately detected Kahn’s traits in his own personality. “When I practiced as a CPA, I ran the department,” he said.
Robinson traced his ancestry by sending his DNA to Oxford Ancestors, a program offered by Oxford University geneticist Bryan Sykes.
Sykes believes that men who carry a particular form of the Y chromosome can be traced to Khan, who distributed his DNA widely by raping the women he conquered.
His project is far from the only one of its kind. One of the most ambitious is the five-year project begun last year by the National Geographic Society and IBM. The goal of the Genographic Project is to collect more than a hundred thousand DNA samples to create the largest gene bank in the world.
“This project will show us some of the routes early humans followed to populate the globe and paint a picture of the genetic tapestry that connects us all,” project leader Spencer Wells said in the society’s magazine.
Some African Americans have turned to DNA testing to trace their roots. In the PBS program “African American Lives” Henry Louis Gates, head of Harvard’s Afro-American Studies program, worked with genetic researchers to learn about his own background.
According to the PBS Web site, Gates had always known that his family line included white ancestors. Family lore had it that a slave owner named Brady was a family ancestor. But genetic research showed it was more likely that one of his ancestors was a female Irish indentured servant. “Here I’m thinking I’m a Brady and maybe I’m from Nigeria, and here I am descended from some white woman. It’s incredible,” Gates told Newsweek.
Conclusions drawn in the burgeoning field of genetic genealogy probably should come with a disclaimer that they are often based on probability, not certainty.
Nonetheless the research provides fascinating insight into both personal histories and the overall history of the human race.
Some believe that answers to many of life’s nagging questions can be found through candid self-examination. In the 21st century that advice apparently can be taken literally.
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