History and genetics of the Han
About 20 percent of the world’s population lives in the People’s Republic of China.Taking their name from the Han dynasty of ancient China, they are the core ethnicity of the People’s Republic of China: making up about 90% of the total population. When…
Running your own analyses
For the technically inclined people here: Tutorial To Run PCA, Admixture, Treemix And Pairwise Fst In One Command.
Ancient Ancestral South “Indians” may have roots in Southeast Asia
Namrata Kalsi: back migration of South East Asian ancestors to South Asia during LGM. #SMBE2018 — Charleston Chiang (@CharlestonCWKC) July 11, 2018 At the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution conference in Japan there is a presentation which reports evidence for gene flow from Pleistocene Southeast Asians into South Asia. I have long suggested this … Continue reading “Ancient Ancestral South “Indians” may have roots in Southeast Asia”
Bangladeshis are very East Asian, Sri Lankan Tamils are not quite as structured
A very long post as my other weblog where I reiterate how East Asian Bengalis, and in particular East Bengalis, are. Aside from the existence of a Dalit/scheduled caste subcommunity, very little has surprised me about Bangladeshi genetics in the last 5 years or so. Rather than a novelty, some simple truths seem to be … Continue reading “Bangladeshis are very East Asian, Sri Lankan Tamils are not quite as structured”
American folkways & American pedigrees
St. Augustine Historic districtOver ten thousand years after the first Americans settled the New World, from the Arctic to Patagonia, a new people arrived on these shores. From “deep history” to colonial history. Before Plymouth, before Jamestown, even…
Bhadralok are made not born
I have two samples of full ancestry from West Bengal. A Kayastha and a Brahmin. You can see where they plot. Bengali Brahmins are very similar to North Indian Brahmins (often they have some “eastward” shift). In contrast, the Kayastha individual looks like the Bangladeshi samples, except with far less East Asian ancestry. I do … Continue reading “Bhadralok are made not born”
Have your exome sequenced for $29.99
Just a reminder that for the rest June Helix DNA kits with the cost of an Insitome app. Buy Regional Ancestry, Metabolism, or Neanderthal, and start your lifelong DNA journey with Helix for just $29.99! A great gift idea.That means for the cost of an a…
Genetics of uniqueness
Ati woman from the PhilippinesHui Chinese Muslim manTrue genetic isolation is hard to pull off. Human populations tend to mix when they are in close proximity.Consider the Hui people. These are Muslims who live across China and speak the local Chinese …
South Asian Genotype Project, Summer 2018 Update
Just an update on the South Asian Genotype Project.
It seems Brahmins from Maharashtra are like Brahmins from South India. Brahmins from Gujarat are like Brahmins from North India.
Three drinks for the ages
Irish CoffeeThe “Irish coffee” is a a delicious concoction. Coffee, alcohol, and dairy. What more can you ask for? Man does not live on bread and water alone. Cafes and bars are thick on the ground in large cities, but also grace country roads. Coffee …
The days of the All-Fathers
Citation: Zerjal et al.“A man’s greatest joy is crushing his enemies.”— Genghis KhanThere are many apocryphal quotes attributed to Genghis Khan. And there’s a reason for that — in a single generation he led an obscure group of Mongolian tribes to conqu…
Genetic variation in South Asia
I don’t have too much time right now. So a quick data post. The map above shows India’s scale in relation to Europe. Below is an NJ tree that shows pairwise Fst values (genetic distance): Please notice the small genetic difference between Britain/Spain/Poland. Compare to Gujrati vs. Sindhi, let alone Gujrati vs. Telegu. Now, PCA: … Continue reading “Genetic variation in South Asia”
Genetical observations on caste
One of the more interesting and definite aspects of David Reich’s Who We Are and How We Got Here is on caste. In short, it looks like most Indian jatis have been genetically endogamous for ~2,000 years, and, varna groups exhibit some consistent genetic differences. This is relevant because it makes the social constructionist view … Continue reading “Genetical observations on caste”
The fall of Rome and the wandering of peoples
The feat of Atilla“…The people of the Huns, but little known from ancient records, dwelling beyond the Maeotic Sea near the ice-bound ocean, exceed every degree of savagery. Since there the cheeks of the children are deeply furrowed with the steel from…
Arise the coalescent!
Citation: Modeling Human Population Separation History Using Physically Phased GenomesEvolution is sometimes difficult to comprehend in terms of how it plays out in your mind’s eye. This is different from believing that evolution occurred. Evolutionary…
The tribe more diverse than all of Asia!
BushmanIn 2010, a paper, which sequenced the whole genome of Bishop Desmond Tutu, revealed that the San Bushmen of South Africa show more genetic difference between two men from different tribes than the differences between a European and an East Asian…
The “X” in the sex chromosome
There are ~3 billion base pairs in the human genome. Of that ~5% are in the X chromosome. The X is fully functional, unlike the famously hamstrung Y. It harbors one of the longest genes in the human genome, DMD, at 2,300,000 base pairs. In contrast, th…
The genetics of forensic identification
The arrest of a suspect in the infamous “Golden State Killer” DNA evidence was notable for how he was identified. The media attention the case has garnered means that forensics genetics have come to public attention again in 2018. Not that the public h…
Closing the genetic chapter
Indus Valley People Did Not Have Genetic Contribution From The Steppes: Head Of Ancient DNA Lab Testing Rakhigarhi Samples: In other words, the preprint observes that the migration from the steppes to South Asia was the source of the Indo-European languages in the subcontinent. Commenting on this, Rai said, “any model of migration of Indo-Europeans … Continue reading “Closing the genetic chapter”
DNA, from genetics to genomics
In the early 1950s scientists established that the molecular structure of DNA was a double helix. The had discovered the physical substrate of heredity. With this discovery the field of molecular genetics was born (and eventually a Nobel Prize given!)….