Biogeographic ancestry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Race and multilocus allele clusters. (Discuss)

Biogeographic ancestry is a concept of lineage that looks at kinship and descent based on biogeography, a combination of biology and geography.

The study of ancestry based mitochondrial DNA, ALU polymorphisms, and other genetic markers has significant implications in law enforcement, medicine, archaeology, and anthropology.

Some scientists believe genetic ancestry can help to focus the search for genes that affect individuals' risks of diseases, as well as prevalence and distribution of disease. Others advocate using it as a means of profiling persons for the purposes of law enforcement. In many of the cases, the term is used synonymously with race and can be used to partially determine the genetic admixture of an individual. However, each individual human may express the same gene differently than another, and each individual is partially a unique mix of genes unlike any other.

The field is sometimes controversial because of the ethical issues raised by DNA profiling and race theories that can be abused for political and social ends. Some critics argue that biogeographic ancestry is simply a means of reification for a social construct. The number of categories and the criteria used to group humans is also very arbitrary and often based on customs or traditions. The results are also only probable, with many individual exceptions.

[edit] References

Bamshad M. (2005). "Genetic Influences on Health: Does Race Matter?". Journal of the American Medical Association 294: 937-946.

Fernández JR, Shriver MD, Beasley TM, Rafla-Demetrious N, Parra E, Albu J, Nicklas B, Ryan AS, McKeigue PM, Hoggart CL, Weinsier RL, Allison DB (2003). "Association of African Genetic Admixture with Resting Metabolic Rate and Obesity Among Women". Obesity Research 11: 904-911.