We Are All Africans. Cousins. It's Written In Our DNA.

The Human Genome Project announced, in 2003, it had achieved it's goals successfully.

Goals which included identifying all 20K-25K genes & determining the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs within human DNA.

Quite the accomplishment!

And, they're not done, yet.

Genetic Research, as a field, continues to grow and be fruitful - with significant focus in the areas of human health & the diagnosis/treatment/cure of disease.

This 'Road-Map' of human DNA has - as any good road-map does for travelers - allowed us to identify both humanity's Migratory Starting Point and the Route(s) taken.

Case In Point:
As chronicled in "The Journey Of Man" (I just watched it on PBS), Geneticist Spencer Wells and his team traveled to the far corners of the globe, collected small amounts of blood, extracted DNA and analyzed it (focusing on the Y-chromosome) in order to unravel the secrets of humanity's earliest migrations.

It's a remarkable and informative documentary about a fascinating field.

(*Spoiler Alert*)

Mr. Wells' findings are based on detailed scientific study - using state-of-the-art equipment - of thousands of DNA samples from all over the world.

And, after thoroughly evaluating the collected evidence, Mr. Wells concluded that All (modern) humans (regardless of perceived 'nationality') are of African descent.

Wells' work showed how every bit of DNA to be found in any of our bodies can, today, be traced back to an African source.

In other words... We (All of Humanity) Are All Africans... We Are All Cousins... Separated by no more than 2,000 generations.

Very Cool.

For your reading pleasure:

(Enjoy!)

1.) Interview Excerpt From: Wells, S.: The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey.
(Source: Princeton University Press)


2.) We Are All Africans

All non-African females are descendants of L3 line from Africa, and males have Y chromosome M-168

Nayan Chanda

Businessworld , 21 July 2009

(Source: YaleGlobal Online - A Publication of Yale Center for the Study of Globalization)

Genome/DNA Hacking: Don't Let It Happen To You

You Just Might Want To Nonchalantly Wipe The Lip Print Off Your Glass Before You Leave The Club/Bar/Restaurant...

Because, It's Not Just A Stubborn Lipstick Stain Anymore...

It's Your Unique Skin Cells... Your Unique Saliva...

It's Your Unique DNA...

In Other Words: It's You.

And, It's Easier To Hijack and Get Analyzed (Without Your Knowledge/Consent) Than You Might Think...

(From: www.newscientist.com/)

Special Investigation: How My Genome Was Hacked

25 March 2009 by Peter Aldhous and Michael Reilly

INTIMATE secrets hidden in your DNA could be stolen without you even realising. By taking a glass from which you have drunk, a "genome hacker" could obtain a comprehensive scan of your genome, revealing DNA variants that help determine your susceptibility to a wide range of diseases, from a common form of blindness to Alzheimer's disease.

That's the disturbing finding of a New Scientist investigation, in which one of us - Michael Reilly - "hacked" the genome of the other - Peter Aldhous - armed with only a credit card, a private email account and a home address.

You might have thought that genome hacking requires specialist skills, and personal access to sophisticated equipment. But in recent years, some companies have started to offer personal genome scans to the public over the internet. Other firms routinely analyse genomes on behalf of scientists involved in human genetics research. In theory, both types of service are vulnerable to abuse by a genome hacker determined to submit someone else's DNA for covert analysis.

Until our investigation, it was not clear whether this would be possible in practice. Could a hacker with no access to a genetics lab take an item carrying another person's DNA and obtain a sample that companies would accept for scanning? Would the sample be of high enough quality to yield accurate results? And would genome analysis companies have procedures in place to identify and refuse suspicious orders?

We decided to find out. Rather like computer security researchers who expose vulnerabilities in software code so that they can be "patched" to guard against malicious hackers, our goal was to uncover vulnerabilities in the way companies offering genome scans operate, so that they can be fixed.

Our investigation uncovered some loopholes that might be closed to help thwart genome thieves. The findings also strengthen the case for additional laws to protect the information contained in the DNA that we all shed continually and leave lying around.

"Just as we have a right to expect that relatives, neighbours, or even strangers can't poke through our medical records without our permission, we should have a right to expect that people can't snoop through our genes," says Kathy Hudson, who heads the Genetics and Public Policy Center in Washington DC.

Our experimental genome hack began like this: Peter drank water from a glass, which he handed to Michael. Michael's first task was to get Peter's DNA off the glass and turn it into a sample that he could submit to a genome-scanning company.

Michael approached several firms that ordinarily extract DNA from items like drinking glasses and match this DNA against particular individuals, on behalf of the police, private detectives or citizens pursuing their own investigations. He said nothing about his intentions, but soon found a company that would extract the DNA without performing any DNA matches. Some weeks later a vial containing a solution of Peter's DNA turned up at Michael's home.

To Continue reading this fascinating story, click Here.

For those interested in the final analysis without reading the entire article - although I recommend reading it - here it is:

"Thwarting genome hackers may also require new laws to protect privacy. One approach would be for other countries to follow the UK, which has made it a crime to have someone else's DNA with the intent of analysing it without consent. "Although we are not aware of any instances of this in personal genome analysis, there is a clear rationale for making it illegal to analyse an individual's DNA without their knowledge and consent," says Decode spokesman Edward Farmer. Such laws are difficult to enforce, however, as an earlier New Scientist investigation revealed (31 January, p 6).

Another approach, which could be tried in parallel, would be to make it illegal for companies to extract and analyse DNA left on everyday items, except under specific circumstances. "There's no good reason, unless you are a police officer investigating a crime, to be doing DNA analysis on a sample from a drinking glass," argues Mark Rothstein, director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

One thing is clear: if lawmakers fail to rise to the challenge posed by genome hacking, we all have reason to fear for the security of our DNA."

Peace...
and Privacy.
L.

This Gives A Whole, New, Unpleasant Meaning To: "Don't Have a Cow, Man!"




From: The "Eeeewww!!" Files:

Plan to create human-cow embryos

By Fergus Walsh
BBC News, Medical correspondent



UK scientists have applied for permission to create embryos by fusing human DNA with cow eggs.

Researchers from Newcastle University and Kings College, London, have asked the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for a three-year licence.

The hybrid human-bovine embryos would be used for stem cell research and would not be allowed to develop for more than a few days.

But critics say it is unethical and potentially dangerous.

Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris - a member of the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee - said: "If human benefit can be derived by perfecting therapeutic cloning techniques or from research into subsequently-derived stem cells, then it would actually be immoral to prevent it just because of a 'yuck' factor."

Stem cell research is one of the most promising areas of medical science.


You may begin to undermine the whole distinction between humans animals and humans
Calum MacKellar

Why create chimeras?


Stem cells are the body's master cells and five-day-old embryos are packed with them - each with the potential to turn into any tissue in the body.

It is this ability which scientists want to harness to treat diseases such as Parkinson's Disease, strokes and Alzheimer's Disease.

To do that, they say they need to have access to thousands of embryos for research.

Short supply

The problem is that human eggs for research are in short supply and to obtain them women have to undergo surgery.

That is why scientists want to use cows' eggs as a substitute.

They would insert human DNA into a cow's egg which has had its genetic material removed, and then create an embryo by the same technique that produced Dolly the Sheep.

The resulting embryo would be 99.9% human; the only bovine element would be DNA outside the nucleus of the cell.

It would, though, technically be a chimera - a mixing of two distinct species into one.

The aim would be to extract stem cells from the embryo when it is six days old, before destroying it.


The quality and the viability of stem cells would then be checked to see if the technique had worked.

The scientists also plan to examine the way the cells are reprogrammed after fusion to see if there are useful processes they could replicate in the laboratory.

Lead researcher Dr Lyle Armstrong said: "If we can learn from the egg cell how to make embryonic stem cells without having to use an animal egg at all then some day we may be able to cure diseases such as Parkinson's disease, or better still some of the age-related diseases which are creating such a burden on society."

Dr Stephen Minger, from King's College London, said: "The current state of the technology is such that literally hundreds of human ooctyes (eggs) from young women will be required to generate a single human embryonic stem cell line.

"Therefore we consider it more appropriate to use non-human oocytes from livestock as a surrogate.

"We feel that the development of disease-specific human embryonic stem cell lines from individuals suffering from genetic forms of neurodegenerative disorders will stimulate both basic research and the development of new medicines to treat these horrific brain diseases."

'Undermining humanity'

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, head of developmental genetics, National Institute for Medical Research, said: "This is a very rational step: to learn what you can using animal eggs, which are readily obtainable, before moving on to valuable human eggs when or if this becomes necessary."

What are diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's if they are not undermining human dignity?
Paul Kemp, Munich

But some will argue the end does not justify the means.

Calum MacKellar, from the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, said the research undermined the distinction between animals and humans.

He said: "In the history of humankind, animals and human species have been separated.

"In this kind of procedure, you are mixing at a very intimate level animal eggs and human chromosomes, and you may begin to undermine the whole distinction between humans and animals.

"If that happens, it might also undermine human dignity and human rights."

*************************************************************************
.... Frell! What about animal rights?!
... Oh, that's right, since most of them are incapable of saying, "Hey! Stop! Don't do that! 'Golden Rule', fellas"... in English, anyway... and since they have yet to overpower the homo-sapiens... I guess it's the 'Oh well, let's pick on the weaker, more vulnerable and mute creatures, because we can' philosophy...
Although, I hear that even rabbits scream during some procedures done to them in "tests".

For my first posting: A copy of the email i just sent to The NY Times and USA Today:
(With acknowledgement and thanks to writer Greg Palast.)

Dear Friends/NY Times Staff:

The Real Domestic Surveillance Story is Not The Phone Call Logging.

The following came to me from writer Greg Palast.
Please take a look at it. He has researched Choicepoint, the Republican-run data mining company that brought us, among other things, the false list of 94,000 "felons" that were removed from the voter rolls in Florida, pretty much for "voting while black". Which insured King George's taking of the throne.

They now have billions in contracts with Homeland Security, the FBI, et al. to collect and sell information on you and I and everyone to those organizations (including our DNA!)who couldn't collect it themselves, that would be illegal. But thanks to the Patriot Act (Ugh!), they can buy it from other companies.

This is a major story! Please don't ignore it. That would only increase the damage they are able to do.

Thank You.
Name Witheld
San Francisco

Greg Palast writes:
The leader in the field of what is called "data mining," is a company,
formed in 1997, called, "ChoicePoint, Inc," which has sucked up over a
billion dollars in national security contracts.

Worried about Dick Cheney listening in Sunday on your call to Mom?
That ain't nothing. You should be more concerned that they are linking
this info to your medical records, your bill purchases and your entire
personal profile including, not incidentally, your voting registration.
Five years ago, I discovered that ChoicePoint had already gathered 16
billion data files on Americans -- and I know they've expanded their ops
at an explosive rate.

They are paid to keep an eye on you -- because the FBI can't. For the
government to collect this stuff is against the law unless you're
suspected of a crime. (The law in question is the Constitution.) But
ChoicePoint can collect if for "commercial" purchases -- and under the Bush
Administration's suspect reading of the Patriot Act -- our domestic
spying apparatchiks can then BUY the info from ChoicePoint.

Who ARE these guys selling George Bush a piece of you?

ChoicePoint's board has more Republicans than a Palm Beach country
club. It was funded, and its board stocked, by such Republican sugar
daddies as billionaires Bernie Marcus and Ken Langone -- even after Langone
was charged by the Securities Exchange Commission with abuse of inside
information.

I first ran across these guys in 2000 in Florida when our Guardian/BBC
team discovered the list of 94,000 "felons" that Katherine Harris had
ordered removed from Florida's voter rolls before the election.
Virtually every voter purged was innocent of any crime except, in most cases,
Voting While Black. Who came up with this electoral hit list that gave
Bush the White House? ChoicePoint, Inc.

And worse, they KNEW the racially-tainted list of felons was bogus.
And when we caught them, they lied about it. While they've since
apologized to the NAACP, ChoicePoint's ethnic cleansing of voter rolls has
been amply assuaged by the man the company elected.

And now ChoicePoint and George Bush want your blood. Forget your phone
bill. ChoicePoint, a sickened executive of the company told us in
confidence, "hope[s] to build a database of DNA samples from every person
in the United States ...linked to all the other information held by CP
[ChoicePoint]" from medical to voting records.

And ChoicePoint lied about that too. The company publicly denied they
gave DNA to the Feds -- but then told our investigator, pretending to
seek work, that ChoicePoint was "the number one" provider of DNA info to
the FBI.

"And that scares the hell out of me," said the executive (who has since
left the company), because ChoicePoint gets it WRONG so often. We are
not contracting out our Homeland Security to James Bond here. It's
more like Austin Powers, Inc. Besides the 97% error rate in finding
Florida "felons," Illinois State Police fired the company after discovering
ChoicePoint had produced test "results" on rape case evidence ... that
didn't exist. And ChoicePoint just got hit with the largest fine in
Federal Trade Commission history for letting identity thieves purchase
145,000 credit card records.

But it won't stop, despite Republican senators shedding big crocodile
tears about "surveillance" of innocent Americans. That's because FEAR
is a lucrative business -- not just for ChoicePoint, but for firms such
as Syntech, Sybase and Lockheed-Martin -- each of which has provided
lucrative posts or profits to connected Republicans including former
Total Information Awareness chief John Poindexter (Syntech), Marvin Bush
(Sybase) and Lynn Cheney (Lockheed-Martin).

But how can they get Americans to give up our personal files, our phone
logs, our DNA and our rights? Easy. Fear sells better than sex -- and
they want you to be afraid. Back to today's New York Times, page 28:
"Wider Use of DNA Lists is Urged in Fighting Crime." And who is
providing the technology? It comes, says the Times, from the work done on
using DNA fragments to identity victims of the September 11 attack. And
who did that job (for $12 million, no bid)? ChoicePoint, Inc. Which
is NOT mentioned by the Times.

"Genetic surveillance would thus shift from the individual [the alleged
criminal] to the family," says the Times -- which will require, of
course, a national DNA database of NON-criminals.

It doesn't end there. Turn to the same newspaper, page 23, with a
story about a weird new law passed by the state of Georgia to fight illegal
immigration. Every single employer and government agency will be
required to match citizen or worker data against national databases to
affirm citizenship. It won't stop illegal border crossing, but hey,
someone's going to make big bucks on selling data. And guess what local boy
owns the data mine? ChoicePoint, Inc., of Alpharetta, Georgia.

The knuckleheads at the Times don't put the three stories together
because the real players aren't in the press releases their reporters
re-write.

But that's the Fear Industry for you. You aren't safer from terrorists
or criminals or "felon" voters. But the national wallet is several
billion dollars lighter and the Bill of Rights is a couple amendments
shorter.

And that's their program. They get the data mine -- and we get the
shaft.


**********
Greg Palast is author of Armed Madhouse: Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf?,
China Floats Bush Sinks, The Scheme to Steal '08, No Child's Behind
Left and Other Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War, out June
6.