Projects

The Genographic Project: Tracing Human Roots to a Single Origin

The Waitt Institute for Discovery is the key partner for the field research for an ambitious global project whose goals are twofold: to capture a snapshot of human history locked within our DNA before it disappears forever, and to highlight the untold stories and uncertain future of indigenous peoples worldwide.

The National Geographic documentary Journey of Man, which tracks human origins and migrations using DNA samples from around the world, has sparked a partnership with IBM to conduct the most significant research project in National Geographic's history, the Genographic Project.

The Genographic Project, a five-year research partnership, will use sophisticated laboratory and computer analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people, including indigenous peoples and members of the general public, to map how the Earth was populated. Led by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Spencer Wells, Ph.D., a team of international scientists and IBM researchers will collect genetic samples, analyze results and report on the genetic roots of modern humans.

With funding from the Waitt Family Foundation and support from the Waitt Institute for Discovery, the scientists will establish 10 centers around the world and will study more than 100,000 DNA samples from indigenous populations. The project is expected to reveal rich details about global human migratory history and to drive new understanding about the connections and differences that make up the human species.

Spencer Wells, a leading population geneticist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, is spearheading the Genographic Project, calling it “a dream come true." He is pictured collecting DNA cheek swab samples and recording data in Nambia, Africa. Photos by Jenny Kubo

Wells is the driving force behind the Genographic Project, overseeing all of its scientific aspects, as well as presenter and scientific advisor for The Search for Adam, a television program produced for the National Geographic Channel about the Genographic Project.

Photos by Mark Read

Genetic research has answered the origins question resoundingly-- we all ultimately trace back to Africa within the past 60,000 years. But we still need to discover many of the details of this journey. The Genographic Project will be able to map more points along this 'epic migration'.

The public can take part as well by purchasing a Participation Kit and submitting their own cheek swab samples, allowing them to track the overall progress of the project as well as learn their own migratory history. These personal results will be stored securely and anonymously to ensure the privacy of participants. National Geographic and IBM will
regularly update the public and the scientific community on project findings, through the project's Web site, and National Geographic’s many other media platforms worldwide.

The resulting public database will house one of the largest collections of human population genetic information ever assembled and will serve as an unprecedented resource
for geneticists, historians and anthropologists.