[monkeyshine]

I am no expert on genetics, but the cohen "gene" and/or the Jewish "gene" seems to be just loose terminology. What is at issue are genetic markers -- these appear to me to be specific combinations of genes on a chromosome.

I am off to study the technical side of this a little more. The article about "cohen genes" talked about "genetic markers" not genes. And it also mentioned chromosomes. These are 3 different terms and I presume they are vastly different animals.

[Marduk]

"I am no expert on genetics, but the cohen "gene" and/or the Jewish "gene" seems to be just loose terminology. What is at issue are genetic markers -- these appear to me to be specific combinations of genes on a chromosome.

I am off to study the technical side of this a little more. The article about "cohen genes" talked about "genetic markers" not genes. And it also mentioned chromosomes. These are 3 different terms and I presume they are vastly different animals."

When they talk of chromosomes they are talking of the Y-chromosome. It is significant because it passed only from father to son.

The way they get the "cohen markers" is that they take people who are Cohens and look at their Y-chromosomes. They look for what genes they have in common with each other that they don't have in common with the human population as a whole. What they have in common is what they mean by "Cohen markers". This commonality then supports the idea of common ancestry on the male line.