The Genographic Project
Mother's Day is around the corner and if your mother is anything like mine, she already has everything she wants and always says "you don't need to get me anything". Trust me, don't ever take her up on that, she is lying. I've found the perfect gift for the woman who has everything. It's from the National Geographic Society and it's called The Genographic Project.
The Genographic Project tracks the migratory paths of humans using DNA from the participants. They sent you a kit and you swab the inside of your mouth and send the sample back and it is analyzed and the results are sent back in a few weeks. It's not a genealogy study and it doesn't give you genetic background by ethnicity, race, or geographic origin. In a female the mitochondrial DNA is tested to identify the ancestral migratory origins of your direct maternal line. Mutations in the DNA sequence occur and they are used as genetic markers by geneticists to trace our evolutionary timeline.
My mom is of Scandinavian descent and her results came back identifying her as haplogroup U5a1a. Below is an excerpt from her results.
U5a1a
The mitochondrial super-haplogroup U encompasses haplogroups U1-U7 and haplogroup K. Haplogroup U5, with its own multiple lineages nested within, is the oldest European-specific haplogroup, and its origin dates to approximately 50,000 years ago. Most likely arising in the Near East, and spreading into Europe in a very early expansion, the presence of haplogroup U5 in Europe pre-dates the expansion of agriculture in Europe. Haplogroup U5a1a-a lineage within haplogroup U5-arose in Europe less than 20,000 years ago, and is mainly found in northwest and north-central Europe. The modern distribution of haplogroup U5a1a suggests that individuals bearing this haplogroup were part of the populations that had tracked the retreat of ice sheets from Europe.
So my mom found out that her ancestors were the first to populate Europe. Shouldn't they get squatters rights and I should inherit a nice chunk of northern Europe, right? She did get a nice map of her family's migratory path out of Africa as well as the migratory paths for the entire project. She also received a DVD and a booklet explaining the project and the results. She is also on a mailing list that sends her the name and email address of people who signed a release and are a mitochondrial DNA match. So far she has 374 low resolution (HVR1) matches and no high resolution (HRV1 + HRV2) matches.
The kit only cost $100 and the proceeds are used to fund the project in less affluent areas of the world. You can also get a kit for your father since Father's Day is only a month away.