The Genographic Project, launched in April 2005, is a five-year genetic anthropology study that aims to map historical human migration patterns by collecting and analyzing DNA samples from over 100,000 people across five continents. Field researchers will collect DNA samples from indigenous populations but uniquely the project will also allow for public participation. For US$100 (in 2005) someone anywhere in the world can order a self-testing kit. They send a mouth scraping (saliva swab) to National Geographic. It will be analyzed and their DNA information will be placed on an Internet accessible database. The process will be completely anonymous and will not test for any genetic traits. Instead genetic markers on Mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes will be used to trace distant ancestry, and each participant is provided with their genetic history. In September 2005, more than 65,000 intrigued people have participated. Migration occurs when living things move from one biome to another. ... Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). ... Dymaxion map by Buckminster Fuller shows land mass with minimal distortion as only one continuous continent A continent (Latin continere, to hold together) is a large continuous land mass. ... The word indigenous is an adjective derived from the Latin word indigena, meaning native, belonging to, aboriginal; and has several applications: Indigenous peoples, communities and cultures native or indigenous to a territory; Indigenous (band), the Native American blues-rock band; In biology, indigenous means native to a place or biota... A genetic marker is a specific discovered single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP (or simply mutation) of certain section of DNA of a specific genome. ... Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA, or less popularly, mDNA) is DNA which is not located in the nucleus of the cell but in the mitochondria. ... The Y chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in humans and most other mammals (the other is the X chromosome). ...

The US$40m project is a privately-funded collaboration between National Geographic, IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation. All proceeds from the sale of self-testing kits will be ploughed into a Legacy Fund to be spent on cultural preservation projects nominated by indigenous communities. The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... International Business Machines Corporation (IBM, or colloquially, Big Blue) NYSE: IBM (incorporated June 15, 1911, in operation since 1888) is headquartered in Armonk, NY, USA. The company manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, and services. ...

Prominent team members are:

• Spencer Wells, Team leader and moving force (National Geographic scientist)
• Himla Soodyall, principal project investigator, Sub-Saharan Africa
• Ajay Royyuru, head of computational biology, IBM

This work in analogous to that of Professor Bryan Sykes, who pioneered the usage of mitochondrial DNA to trace lineages. Sykes documented his work in The Seven Daughters of Eve. Spencer Wells (born April 6, 1969) is a geneticist and anthropologist, and an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. ... A detective is an officer of the police who performs criminal or administrative investigations, in some police departments, the lowest rank among such investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below sergeants), a civilian licensed to investigate information not readily available in public records (a private investigator, also called... A satellite composite image of Africa showing the ecological break between North and Sub-Saharan regions Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa south of the Sahara Desert, is the term used to describe those countries of Africa that are not part of North Africa. ... Bioinformatics or computational biology is the use of techniques from applied mathematics, informatics, statistics, and computer science to solve biological problems. ... Bryan Sykes is professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford. ... Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA, or less popularly, mDNA) is DNA which is not located in the nucleus of the cell but in the mitochondria. ... The Seven Daughters of Eve is a book by Bryan Sykes that presents the theory of mitochondrial genetics in a clear and non-specialistic manner. ...

The project has drawn comparison with the failed Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) from the 1990s, which ended after a range of controversies emerged about how the DNA information would be managed. The Genographic Project leaders have said that they will make the information from their project public, and that the project is undertaking widespread consultation with indigenous groups. A number of the key members of the Genographic Project were key members of the HGDP as well; the Advisory Board, for example, is chaired by Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, the geneticist who originally proposed the HGDP.[1] The human genome diversity project (HGDP) was started by Stanford Universitys Morrison Institute and a collaboration of scientists around the world. ... // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ... Map of human genetic diversity, from the dust jacket of The History and Geography of Human Genes, 1994 Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (born January 25, 1922) is an Italian population geneticist born in Genoa, who has been a professor at Stanford University since 1970 (now emeritus). ...

Shortly after the announcement of the project in April 2005, the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism released a statement protesting the project, its connections with the HGDP, and called for a boycott of IBM, Gateway Computers, and National Geographic. Gateway, Inc. ...

See also

• anthropometry
• archaeology
• genetics
• genetic diversity
• linguistics
• Y chromosome
• Mitochondrial Eve
• Y-chromosomal Adam

Anthropometry demonstrated in an exhibit from a 1921 eugenics conference. ... Importance and applicability Most of human history is not described by any written records. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Genetic diversity is a characteristic of ecosystems and gene pools that describes an attribute which is commonly held to be advantageous for survival -- that there are many different versions of otherwise similar organisms. ... Broadly conceived, linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and a linguist is someone who engages in this study. ... The human Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes, it contains the genes that cause testis development, thus determining maleness. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-22, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... In human genetics, Y-chromosomal Adam (Y-mrca) is the male counterpart to mitochondrial Eve: the most recent common ancestor from whom all male human Y chromosomes are descended. ...

External links

• Official site
• CNN article
• USA Today article
• Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism press release (13 April 2005)
• IPCB press releases and statements