The Genographic Project (Have Your DNA Checked, Find Your Roots)

National Geographic - IBM ^ | 6-15-2005

[visualops]

A hundred dollars! crap that's way to expensive for me.
bummer :(

[Recall]

Is there a cure?

[martin_fierro]

Is there a cure?

Only one cure:

[I'm ALL Right!]

We must look exactly alike! Ha! I like to just consider myself the ultimate American.

[SunkenCiv]

I believe this is an mtDNA study though. The researcher mentioned is the current big gun of Replacement / Eve / OOA / Clovis First and Only.

[kitkat]

I notice that there are a lot of N.G.'s on sale at garage sales, often for ten cents each. If there are maps or pix you need, only the homeowner would make the money, not the liberal N.G. people.

But perhaps you already knew that.

[fanfan]

Thanks for the ping.

Very interesting, and I just may do it.

As long as they don't clone me...One of me is bad enough!

[xenophiles]

The consent form doesn't even allow your signature, you just black in a dot. It really is anonymous.

Except that they can, if they wish, identify a DNA sample with an address to which they sent that kit.

Whether or not you consider your genome private, the point is that these people have set up a privacy-protection mechanism that is flawed, which suggests to me that they are simply paying lip service to privacy.

As for how this information could be used to hurt people, suppose your genome revealed a predisposition to, say, alcoholism. Do you think that nobody would want to restrict your rights to drive a car, own a gun, have custody of a child? Have you never seen a law so oppressive?

[SunkenCiv]

And if we all did it, FreeRepublic would be using twice the bandwidth, at least. ;')

[CobaltBlue]

The test results are no more capable of revealing that you have a tendency to alcoholism than blood group typing (ABO).

But hey, if you're paranoid, don't do it.

[fanfan]

LOL. And Jim Rob would get twice the donations. ;-)

[Recall]

I told my husband I'm getting one to make sure he's my husband! Hmmm, sounds like a "blond" idea..lol

[Recall]

Does it distinguish between Jewish groups, like German Jews from Russian Jews from Polish Jews?

[Recall]

Most scientists think the first Indians came to the Americas from Asia at least 15,000 years ago.

Source:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6524/americanindians.htm

[T Minus Four]

I can't believe no one has asked this yet, but what are the "dozen phenotyping questions" one must answer?

[hlmencken3]

Such groups would not be very gentically distinct, although I'm sure distant relatives could be found.

Family Roots

...while genealogy tests such as those offered by Family Tree DNA are "valid," the companies "should give explanations of what the results mean. You have the same lineage as 10 million other people." In other words, the tests are not that meaningful by themselves. For example, all persons of Eastern European Jewish descent share many markers because they are descended from a rather small number of individuals, perhaps 50,000, who were alive in the year 1500.

[xenophiles]

The test results are no more capable of revealing that you have a tendency to alcoholism than blood group typing (ABO).

You are assuming that no analysis will be performed on the samples other than the coarse grouping reported on the web site. If that's the case, then I agree, I don't see any danger in it. At least not until racial cleansing comes back into vogue, which is far enough away (in the First World) that it will be impossible to keep genomes secret that long anyhow.

But hey, if you're paranoid, don't do it.

If you're schizophrenic, study Dali. If you're a sniveling coward, wear a seatbelt. And if you don't want to discuss genetic privacy, then don't.

[Recall]

LOL

Seriously tho, I was born with six fingers and understand
Giants (Goliath) had extra digits. I wonder if this test would reflect that. Sorry, if this is a dumb question.

[Recall]

CORRECTION HERE

I was born with 6 fingers on one hand, 5 on the other. I ad no extra toes but my middle toe is longer than my big toe.

[JudyB1938]

No wonder you're so good-looking. I've always thought Eurasians were the world's most handsome people.

Another thing about this ... Asians have the highest IQ's, so that explains how come you're so smart, too. :^)

Luv ya,
Judy