Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project

by Spencer Wells

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447	22	55,657	(3.64)	37
Science tells us we're all related--one vast family sharing a common ancestor who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago. But countless questions remain about our great journey from the birthplace of Homo sapiens. How and when did we end up where we are? Why do we display such a wide range of colors and features? The fossil record offers some answers, but new research reveals many more, since our DNA carries a chronicle of our species and its migrations. This book translates complicated concepts into accessible language and explains how each individual's DNA contributes another piece to the puzzle. It takes readers inside the Genographic Project, the landmark study now assembling the world's largest collection of DNA samples and employing the latest in testing technology and computer analysis to examine hundreds of thousands of genetic profiles from all over the globe, showing how universal our human heritage really is.--From publisher description.… (more)

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http://tamaranth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/201226-deep-ancestry-inside-genographic.... (

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tamaranth | Jun 13, 2012 |

A good introduction to deep ancestry but the haplogroup information is now somewhat dated. (

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DebbieKennett | Dec 9, 2011 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Once again I must redo a review because it turned up missing. This was a rather complicated book to review since the science is very technical to a point, however it does give you a very deep and interesting veiw of our selves.

KeithFowler | Jun 8, 2010 |

A great layperson's view of the incredible genome project undertaken by Nat Geo and an incredibly talented group of scientists. I've seen Spencer Wells in person, and i think the only thing he does better than lecture is write. He makes a fabulously complicated scientific discipline fascinating, readable, and truly exciting.

It's a story of science, but Wells makes it a story of individuals and families, giving it a layperson scale. It's such a great reminder that we are all family. (

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Oreillynsf | May 23, 2010 |

"Deep Ancestry" is a good introduction to the field of using DNA analysis to determine patterns of human migration over tens of thousands of years. I now have a far better understanding of the difference between Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA, and the way in which variations within each of the type of DNA can be analysed to obtain a hierarchy or timeline. The stories of some of the participants in the Genographic Project provide helpful illustrations of the knowledge that can be obtained. Some of the technical details have been oversimplified, and I had trouble finding the answers to some of my nagging questions for detail. Some were answered by a closer re-read of the book, others by searching the web, others by asking colleagues working in the area, but there are still a few unanswered! (

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rodneyvc | Jan 25, 2010 |

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Canonical title

Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2006-11-21

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To Kim McKay,
for asking the right question

First words

Introduction

On June 26, 2000, two geneticists stood with President Bill Clinton in the East Room of the White House. It was the end of a long journey for these two scientists as well as a public show of unity after a hard-fought battle to stake claim on the first complete sequence of the human genome—the 2.85 billion units that make up our genes. Francis Collins, a physician and a devout Christian, had led the publicly funded Human Genome Project. Craig Venter, taking his cues from Silicon Valley and the tech boom of the 1990s, had formed a private company to claim the same prize. Their rivalry would accelerate the pace of work to such an extent that the date of completion arrived a year earlier than expected. It was a great day to be a scientist, and I remember watching the event broadcast over the Internet from my laboratory in Oxford, hanging on every word.

1
The Block

Imagine yourself in outer space, somewhere near the moon. The Earth appears to be a blue orb floating in darkness. There are no other planets nearby—it is alone in the darkness. You begin to zoom toward it, and the lush green of the land becomes apparent. Gradually you start to make out continents—Asia, Africa, the Americas. You focus on North America, precariously connected by a narrow land bridge to South America. Zooming closer, yoiu narrow your destination to the eastern seaboard of the United States, then closer still, rushing toward New York City. Its web of streets, railways, and bridges comes into focus, and you can make out the five boroughs that are home to more than eight million people.

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English US

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Recent African origin of modern humans

Stone-Age Poland

▾Book descriptions

Science tells us we're all related--one vast family sharing a common ancestor who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago. But countless questions remain about our great journey from the birthplace of Homo sapiens. How and when did we end up where we are? Why do we display such a wide range of colors and features? The fossil record offers some answers, but new research reveals many more, since our DNA carries a chronicle of our species and its migrations. This book translates complicated concepts into accessible language and explains how each individual's DNA contributes another piece to the puzzle. It takes readers inside the Genographic Project, the landmark study now assembling the world's largest collection of DNA samples and employing the latest in testing technology and computer analysis to examine hundreds of thousands of genetic profiles from all over the globe, showing how universal our human heritage really is.--From publisher description.

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