Zoom lens on the human family
Mathures Paul reports on a project that will map world migratory patterns dating back some 150,000 years and fill in the huge gaps in our knowledge of humankind’s migratory history WHERE do we come from? Where are we headed? The objective of the Genographic Project, led by National Geographic explorer-in-residence Dr Spencer Wells, who is working with a team of renowned international scientists and IBM researchers, is to analyse historical patterns in DNA from participants around the world to better understand our human genetic roots. Dr Ajay K Royyuru, project leader, Computational Biology Centre, IBM Research (Watson Research Centre), shares some insights into IBM’s Genographic Project and discusses how IBM’s India Research Laboratory is contributing to the project. Excerpts: Major findings so far… A common origin of the entire human population was established on the basis of genetic evidence well before the Genographic Project. We are all Africans. The human species appeared in the ...