Who’s Your Daddy?

Have you ever wondered who your ancestors are — from 60,000 years ago? The National Geographic Society and IBM may answer that for you. Over the next five years, a team of scientists will gather 100,000 DNA samples from indigenous groups around the world. Advanced data–sorting techniques will be used to interpret the samples and ...

Have you ever wondered who your ancestors are -- from 60,000 years ago? The National Geographic Society and IBM may answer that for you. Over the next five years, a team of scientists will gather 100,000 DNA samples from indigenous groups around the world. Advanced data–sorting techniques will be used to interpret the samples and chart new migration patterns and connections within the data. "We see this as the 'moon shot' of anthropology, using genetics to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of human history," says project leader Spencer Wells.

Have you ever wondered who your ancestors are — from 60,000 years ago? The National Geographic Society and IBM may answer that for you. Over the next five years, a team of scientists will gather 100,000 DNA samples from indigenous groups around the world. Advanced data–sorting techniques will be used to interpret the samples and chart new migration patterns and connections within the data. "We see this as the ‘moon shot’ of anthropology, using genetics to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of human history," says project leader Spencer Wells.

People can take part by logging on to genographic.nationalgeographic.com and purchasing a $99.95 DNA sampling kit. Samples will be assigned an anonymous ID that can be used to trace ancestral lineage on the Internet. An interactive map will show the genetic markers people share with others. A Wall Street broker, for instance, might not be surprised to learn that he descends from a Mongolian warlord.

Jason Motlagh is a researcher at Foreign Policy.

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