Discovery That There Are Genetic Links Between

¶ … discovery that there are genetic links between Native Americans and Europeans. The conclusions of this research show that ancient Siberians have roots in Europe, not Asia. The research is based on comparing genomes. The researchers sequenced a genome from 24,000-year-old Siberian boy and compared it with DNA samples from Native Americans, Europeans and Asians.

The researchers assume that ancient Siberians crossed the Bering Land Bridge to become native North Americans, but this research shows that ancient Siberians were not entirely Asian, but were only 2/3 Asian and 1/3 from "Western Eurasia." The findings also confirm that while there are traces of European ancestry in many native Americans today, this does not necessarily mean that they had a European ancestor from the post-Columbia era. The study was focused on genetic information, haplogroup R. And mitochrondial DNA haplogroup U.

These markers are common both in those of European ancestry and Asian peoples from west of the Altai Mountains. These groups are not found in East Asian people. The researchers were able to therefore confirm that Native Americans, who descended from ancient Siberians -- or more correctly what is known as the Russian Far East -- are not entirely descended from East Asians as was previously thought. The work is limited in a couple of respects.

One factor is that the researchers are still piecing together the theories about the genetics of different groups around the world. This finding basically rules out one prevailing theory about Native American genetics, but replaces it with something that is a bit more wide open. The researchers are careful not to pinpoint with any greater specificity what particular Altaic/European genetics the Native Americans have because the research did not test for that.

The research was exploratory in nature, and while the finding was surprising and does inform some theory, it is more of a starting point for further exploration than a definitive answer about the genetics of Native Americans. The research was analyzed by comparing the DNA and genes of the different samples. The comparison was not mathematical in nature, but rather focused on checking for specific genes and markers in the samples.

The samples were not random, because the nature of the research was to evaluate a specific groups for specific things. By comparing two known things for similarities and differences, the researchers are able to infer their conclusions. This is possible because DNA and genes are finite and defined, meaning that they are either present or they are not, and we have a large amount of information with which to make these comparisons, because we know where the samples come from.

The new element here is the testing of an ancient Siberian sample. The experimenter therefore is able to be exact in his/her interpretation of the results. The results are binary and can be assessed with certainty, which is a unique characteristic of genetic researcher. Gene sequence comparisons are essentially a series of yes/no answers that help to determine the patterns.