WHAT: Professor Charles Aquadro, director of the Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics, and Spencer Wells, a visiting professor at Cornell and director of National Geographic and IBM’s Genographic Project, talk about the newly revealed results of Cornell Genetic Ancestry Project, tracing humanity’s genetic ancestry and the frontiers of human genetic testing.
WHEN: Monday, April 18, 2011, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. during the monthly Inside Cornell media luncheon.
WHERE: Cornell’s ILR Conference Center, sixth floor, 16 E. 34th St., Manhattan.
MEDIA NOTE: You are invited to attend this special journalists-only lunch with Charles “Chip” Aquadro and Spencer Wells. To RSVP, please contact John Carberry at (607) 255-5353 or (607) 227-0767, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Newswise — ITHACA, N.Y. – Only days after revealing the results of this year’s deep genetic ancestry test of 200 random Cornell University student volunteers, the two scientists behind the effort – molecular biology and genetics Professor Charles Aquadro and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Spencer Wells – will talk with media members in Midtown Manhattan about what the testing taught them, what we’ve learned in recent years about the migration of ancient humans, and about what lies ahead on the frontiers of genetic science.Aquadro and Wells will be the featured guests at the monthly
Inside Cornell, which brings leading Cornell faculty from around the world to New York City for a lunchtime conversation with members of the media.
The Cornell Genetic Ancestry Project, in collaboration with the Genographic Project, tested the students free of charge to trace the migration paths of their ancient ancestors. The genetic information was gathered from DNA cheek swab samples collected on campus Feb. 1. The Cornell effort parallels the 2009 National Geographic Documentary, “The Human Family Tree,” in which the Genographic Project tested the DNA of 200 Queens residents on a single day in a single city block and found them to represent all of humanity's major ancient migratory paths.
Spencer Wells is the director of the Genographic Project and the Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of ’56 Professor at Cornell. Aquadro is the director of the Cornell Genetic Ancestry Project and the Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics.
The Genographic Project focuses exclusively on deep ancestry genetic markers, which have no medical or clinical relevance. Men can trace their patrilineal deep ancestry through Y-chromosome testing, or their matrilineal ancestry through mitochondrial DNA; only mitochondrial DNA testing is available for women. The project so far has collected about 72,000 samples from indigenous and traditional groups and more than 400,000 samples from individuals in 130 countries who purchased Genographic Public Participation Kits available through the project website. The kits help fund the project and the Genographic Legacy Fund, which “provides grants to community-led efforts to preserve indigenous and traditional cultures around the world,” Wells said.
For Aquadro, an important goal of the project has been to engage the Cornell community in a discussion of the promise, challenges, risks, limitations and science behind genetic testing.
“Genetic information is moving into our daily lives much like personal computers have,” says Aquadro. “While genetic testing can offer many benefits, it is also fraught with opportunities for misuse by individuals and society. We want our students to be prepared to wisely consider relative risk versus benefit and to be able to appreciate divergent opinions and concerns.”
For more information, visit:http://3cpg.cornell.edu/index.cfm/page/AncestryProject.htmhttps://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html
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