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Deep Ancestry: Inside The Genographic Project
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by Spencer Wells
Sales Rank: 18581
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List Price: $12.95
$10.36
At Amazon
on 10-25-2008
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Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: National Geographic; Reprint edition November 20, 2007
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426201184
ISBN-13: 978-1426201189
Product Dimensions:
7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
In this concise and well-written work, Wells (The Journey of Man) provides an accessible introduction to genetic anthropology, the study of human history using genetic evidence. Wells is the director of the Genographic Project, which collects DNA samples from a wide array of world populations to better understand human history over the last 200,000 years. Wells does a fantastic job distilling both genetics and genetic anthropology into straightforward topics, presenting sophisticated material accessibly without oversimplification. He gives the reader the basic concepts (Y chromosomes, mtDNA, haplogroups, genetic markers) and then proceeds to step through genographic research from its 19th-century origins to the present day. In so doing, he takes the reader back to the 170,000-year-old female genetic ancestor of every person alive today: the so-called African Eve. It is a remarkable journey that will appeal to readers of all backgrounds interested in exploring the science and research behind human evolution, although those with more experience in the sciences may find some of the material elementary.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
The study of human prehistory has been revolutionized by genetic evidence. Here a leading researcher in genetic anthropology surveys the specialty. He warns that its promise could go unrealized because contemporary mobility is reshuffling the human genome, obscuring the DNA details by which experts can trace the geographic ancestry of contemporary ethnic groups. To rescue genetic information, Wells heads National Geographic Society's Genographic Project, which collects and analyzes DNA from volunteers to create a database of the human genome as it was before the Industrial Revolution. He relays the personal stories and ethnic lineage of five such volunteers while explaining both the DNA markers and the logic by which he and his colleagues can reliably place and date a person's ancestry. Even at this early stage, genomic discoveries about ancient migrations are astounding, and the potential of the NGS project to continue them is apparent from the open questions Wells poses in his epilogue. An informative and exciting picture of science in the making. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Deep Ancestry: Inside The Genographic Project
Available from Amazon
Price: $10.36
Updated on 10-25-2008
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