Genes, History and Archaeology: A Case Study of The British People
| Dates: | 12 February 2014 |
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| Times: | 12:00 - 13:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Faculty of Life Sciences |
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| Who is it for: | Current University students, University staff |
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| Speaker: | Professor Sir Walter Bodmer, FRS |
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This seminar is part of the Leaders in Science Seminar Series. Genetic variation has been used to study the interrelationships of human populations since the early twentieth century. Gradually, with the discovery of more ways to study individual differences at the genetic level, the ability to relate human populations to each other has become more and more sophisticated. Knowledge of the patterns of genetic variation in human populations has also become important for studying the inherited basis of complex chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. With modern techniques of DNA sequence analysis it has now become possible to use a million or more genetic markers to do a fine genetic analysis even of populations as closely related as those of different parts of the British Isles.
Using this approach, we have created a “genetic map” of the people of the British Isles, revealing a striking concordance between genetic clusters and geography. Most of the genetic variation across the UK can be interpreted to be derived from a set of European source populations, corresponding approximately to the Norse Vikings, the Ancient British and the Anglo-Saxons. Thus, even individuals from Cornwall and Devon can be distinguished based on their genetic makeup. The regional patterns of genetic differentiation, and their differing mixture profiles, carry clear signals of events in the history of the UK population, and assist in their interpretation."
Speaker
Professor Sir Walter Bodmer, FRS
Organisation: University of Oxford
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LT 3
Stopford Building
Manchester
