Coincidence that this appeared in today's issue of "Science," one of the two best-known and most prestigious general science journals in the anglophone world (Rosenberg, et. al. Science:298, 20/12/2002:2381). The article is called "Genetic Structure of Human Populations" by a multinational team from the US, Russia and France. I have the full article (as well as the editorial introduction) but here's the abstract:
"We studied human population structure using genotypes at 377 autosomal microstallite loci in 1056 individuals from 52 populations. Within-population differences among individuals account for 93 to 95% of genetic variation; differences among major groups constitute only 3 to 5%. Nevertheless, without using prior information about the origins of individuals, we identified six main genetic clusters, five of which correspond to major geographic regions, and subsclusters that often correspond to individual populations. General agreement of genetic and predefined populations suggests that self-reported ancestry can facilitate assessments of epidemiological risks but does not obviate the need to use genetic information in genetic associations studies." I'm the first to admit I'm not a geneticist, and much of this article is over my head. It *seems* to be saying that because there is far more genetic variation within a given population than there is between populations, that the use of genetics for the study of human migratory patterns is only of very weak usefulness. That is, within a given area, you could often separate populations, but if you tried to compare populations from one area to populations in another area, there were rarely any correlations. I could see no correlation between East Asian and American populations, for instance. But in any case, the difference between a Colombian sample and a Mayan sample within the greater American population was greater than differences between the whole American population and the East Asian populations (which likewise showed great various between individual groups within the population as a whole). Any thoughts? -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland “Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give lustre, and many more people see than weigh.” – Lord Chesterfield Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
