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How did human's come to populate the earth? That's the question researchers hope to map out, as they chart the migratory history of mankind.
In order to find the answers though, they need your DNA, as they build the human family tree. Jeremy Dies, Project Manager from IBM, says, "I think it's a story we all want to know, who are we and where did we come from."
Researchers with National Geographic and IBM shared an overview of "the Genographic Project" [1] today with UTC students and professors.
Tracking genetic markers, they're unlocking the story of how human's migrated across the earth. Dies says "we focus on deep ancestry, so tens of thousands of years as opposed to where your great grandparents may be from."
The database currently includes 265,000 participants who used a kit, like this one, to swab their cheek and obtain a DNA sample. The process remains anonymous, using tracking codes instead of names and addresses.
Researchers say this project could rewrite the history books of human migration, showing how we're all connected to each other. "Our DNA tells a story of a common ancestor in Africa about 60 to 70,000 years ago and the entirety of the human population may have dwindled to just a few thousand living in east Africa and those few thousand people, all 6 1/2 billion of us around the world are descended," says Dies.
Lu Lu Copeland learned her ancestors were among the first Eskimos to migrate into America. "Tracing my ancestry, all I knew was that my family grew up in Taiwan, and I knew we came from mainland China, and that's the end of my information, my historical information," says Copeland
Researchers say archeology backs up their findings. They'll turn their database over to the public domain for scientist to use when the five-year project completes.
National Geographic depends on citizen science to compile their data. A "Genographic Participation Kit" [2] costs $100, with proceeds supporting cultural preservation projects around the world.
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