Want to know where your ancestors came from? Soon you may be able to tell by testing your DNA.
The New York Times has an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/science/13visual.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin) about a team of biologists who have constructed a genetic map of Europe that shows the degree of relatedness between its various populations. All the populations are quite similar, but the differences are sufficient that it should be possible to devise a forensic test to tell which country in Europe an individual probably comes from, according to Manfred Kayser, a geneticist at the Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
The original study is available at http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS0960982208009561
Regarding the gene for lactose tolerance, I understand that those with B blood type (and perhaps AB blood) apparently are much more likely to be lactose tolerant and love milk and cheese than those with other blood types, especially O blood types, who often have trouble tolerating milk products. I wonder whether the scientists checked blood types. We should be including blood type in our family tree information when we know it. Agree?
Posted by: S. Lieske | August 20, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Lactose intolerance/tolerance has interested me since I began my own personal DNA family tree. My children are both AB positive, although I'm O positive, however in my father's family we are all big milk drinkers anything dairy goes. Unfortunately, in later life I have had to accept that SKIM Milk is all I can drink because of cholesterol concerns.
It would be interesting to find out we descend from the group of people mentioned in the article who adapted their genes to accept lactose for survival.
Posted by: LT Bouldin | August 22, 2008 at 10:06 AM