
Genetic map of Europe; genes vary as a function of distance - makimaki
http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2008/08/genetic_map_of_europe_genes_va.php
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tokenadult
_an individual's DNA can be used to infer their geographic origin with
surprising accuracy--often to within a few hundred kilometres._

But with what kind of error band around that inference? Who has conducted a
validation study on this?

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euccastro
Nitpick: Barcelona-Madrid-Lisbon is a poor way to sample the Iberian
peninsula. Geographical features and historical events divide the territory in
bands along a NW-SE axis (roughly Atlantic vs Mediterranean).

Two interesting sample spots that are lost in this NE-SW sample would be the
Basque country (a pre-indoeuropean culture) and Galicia-Asturias (remains of
celtic culture, colonized by Swabs[1], as opposed to West Goths, after the
fall of the Roman Empire, and never conquered by the Muslims).

Another reason why these would be interesting would be that Irish celtic
legends say that their people come from the north of the Iberian peninsula.

[1] The Swabs also occupied territories in northern Italy. This might explain
why Portugal (originally a Galician county) seems closer to Italy than (West
Goth) Madrid and Barcelona.

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aswanson
Probably wouldn't work in the US, too many mashups.

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dhughes
Canadian cities like Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto would be insane! So many
different groups of people marry and their kids marry too creating an amazing
mix of people.

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a-priori
We're lucky we developed genetics when we did. The study of human gene
migration depends on people staying relatively immobile over time, and
population groups remaining genetically separate. In a couple generations, if
populations continue to mix (which, in all likelyhood, they will), much of
this information may have been lost.

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DavidPP
Would be curious to see a geographic map of the US with the genetic country of
origin of the population on top of it.

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kingkongrevenge
"The Nine Nations of North America" and "Albion's Seed" have detailed data on
the distinct cultural regions of the US, but no genetic information.

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ia
i bet iceland would be an extreme example of this. when i was there, it did
seem like a lot of native icelanders looked alike.

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transburgh
"an individual's DNA can be used to infer their geographic origin with
surprising accuracy--often to within a few hundred kilometres."

impressive

