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Do we know of anyone whose Genes cover the whole Globe?


mojobadshah

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Do scientists know if there is any individual or group who possesses genes that extend across the entire globe? If not is there anyone one individual or group whose genes extend across a majority of the globe?

Edited by mojobadshah
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Sure, we seem to have one female from which every human came from, as well as a male from which every human came from. They are cleverly named Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam. However, I'm not sure I've got the right Adam here, so someone can feel free to correct me.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_Eve

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-chromosomal_Adam

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I am not sure whether I understand the question. If you are asking about gens that are shared by everyone, then this would apply for most of our genome. if you mean allele variants, it would apply genes that are fixed (i.e. the existence of only one allele). I remember vaguely that I read in an old textbook that heterozygosity on the protein level was estimated to be around 10% (i.e. around 90% would be fixed or near-fixed). On the DNA level this would expected to be higher due (as not every DNA mutation would also change an amino acid). But this data is likely to be outdated as the book must have been printed sometime in the 90s, well before the large sequencing projects started to take off.

But even assuming for a large margin of error, you would expect quite a lot of them being found around the globe.

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It appears that the Mongolian leader Genghis Khan is the winner of the "man with the most prodigy" award.

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0214_030214_genghis.html

 

An international group of geneticists studying Y-chromosome data have found that nearly 8 percent of the men living in the region of the former Mongol empire carry y-chromosomes that are nearly identical. That translates to 0.5 percent of the male population in the world, or roughly 16 million descendants living today.

 

The study looked at blood samples collected over a period of ten years from more than 40 populations living in and around the former Mongol empire. The Y-chromosome is passed on as a chunk of DNA from father to son, basically unchanged through generations except for random mutations. These random mutations, which happen naturally and are usually harmless, are called markers. Once the markers have been identified, geneticists can go back in time and trace them to the point at which they first occurred, defining a unique lineage of descent.

In this particular instance, the lineage originated 1,000 years ago. The authors aren't saying that the genetic mutations defining the lineage originated with Khan, who was born around 1162; they are more likely to have been passed on to him by a great great grandfather.

It appears Genghis and his sons took advantage of their positions of authority. redface.gif

142 Mongol Empire divisions Khanat 13th Century Map.

Edited by arc
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  • 2 weeks later...

It appears that the Mongolian leader Genghis Khan is the winner of the "man with the most prodigy" award.

redface.gifprodiginy

It's never to late.

Edited by arc
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Skitt's Law.

 

And it's "progeny".

 

Skitt's Law gets you every thyme.

 

 

doh.gifBetter to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.

— ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Edited by arc
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