Genographic Project

The Genographic Project is an effort founded by the National Geographic Society and IBM to collect gene samples from people worldwide in order to reveal patterns in their DNA and thus uncover the origins and migration routes of peoples. Field researchers will collect DNA samples from indigenous populations but uniquely the project will allow for public participation by all people wherever they are. For approximately US$100 someone anywhere in the world can order a self testing kit. They send a mouth scraping away which will be analysed and their DNA information will be place on and Internet accesable database. This process is completely anonomous and does not test for various genetic traits. It instead examines Mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes in order to trace distant ancestry.

External links

• Genographic Project homepage