FROM THE PROJECT DIRECTOR, Dr. Spencer Wells
Welcome! I'd like to tell you a little more about the Genographic Project and what to expect if you decide to take part in this real-time research effort.
We're collaborating with indigenous and traditional peoples around the world to learn more about where we came from and how we got to where we live today. But participation is not restricted to indigenous and traditional peoples; we're also inviting the general public to join us on the journey. Together we can tell the story of us all.
About the Test
With a simple and painless cheek swab you can sample your own DNA and submit it to the lab. We run ONE test per participation kit. We will test either your mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down each generation from mother to child and reveals your direct maternal ancestry; or your Y chromosome (males only), which is passed down from father to son and reveals your direct paternal ancestry. You choose which test you would like administered.
What to Expect
Your results will reveal your deep ancestry along a single line of direct descent (paternal or maternal) and show the migration paths they followed thousands of years ago. Your results will also place you on a particular branch of the human family tree. Some anthropological stories are more detailed than others, depending upon the lineage you belong to. For example, if you are of African descent, your results will show the initial movements of your ancestors on the African continent, but will not reflect most of the migrations that have occurred within the past 10,000 years. Your individual results may confirm your expectations of what you believe your deep ancestry to be, or you may be surprised to learn a new story about your genetic background.
You will not receive a percentage breakdown of your genetic background by ethnicity, race, or geographic origin. Nor will you receive confirmation of an association with a particular tribe or ethnic group.
Furthermore, this is not a genealogy study. You will not learn about your great-grandparents or other recent relatives, and your DNA trail will not necessarily lead to your present-day location. Rather, your results will reveal the anthropological story of your direct maternal or paternal ancestors—where they lived and how they migrated around the world many thousands of years ago. (View a sample results page.)
A Real-Time Research Project
Remember, your initial results are just the beginning. They are based on current science and may become more detailed and refined as the ongoing field research yields new information. Be sure to visit this Web site often to follow along as we post new findings and automatically update your results.
Contribute Your Results to the Anonymous Database
Once you receive your results, I encourage you to contribute to the Project by including your results in our global database. This process is optional and completely anonymous, but it's a very important component of the project and we hope that you will choose to do so. It is also a rare opportunity to take part in a real-time scientific study. Just follow the instructions at the bottom of your results page and answer a few quick questions that will help place your results in a cultural context.
I hope that you are as excited by the Genographic Project as we are and that you will join us on the journey. This is a unique opportunity to both participate in and contribute to a real-time, landmark research project. Not only will you learn something about your own past, but you will also help us uncover some of the lingering mysteries of our history as one human family.
Spencer Wells
Order a Kit
The Participation Kit costs U.S. $99.95 (plus shipping and handling and tax if applicable). The kit includes:
| 1. | DVD with a Genographic Project overview hosted by Dr. Spencer Wells, visual instructions on how to collect a DNA sample using a cheek scraper, and a bonus feature program: the National Geographic Channel/PBS production The Journey of Man. | ||
| 2. | Exclusive National Geographic map illustrating human migratory history and created especially for the launch of the Genographic Project. | ||
| 3. | Buccal swab kit, instructions, and a self-addressed envelope in which to return your cheek swab sample. (You can download a pdf of instructions or the order and consent form. You will need Acrobat Reader.) | ||
| 4. | Detailed brochure about the Genographic Project, featuring stunning National Geographic photography | ||
| 5. | Confidential Genographic Project ID # (GPID) to anonymously access your results at this Web site |
The purchase price also includes the cost of the testing and analysis—an expensive process—that will take place once your sample is sent in.
Return Your Kit
Once you have completed the cheek scraping process, you will secure the scrapers inside the transport tubes, sign the informed consent form and mail the tubes and form off to the lab.
That's it! In about eight weeks—the time necessary for the laboratory to correctly analyze your DNA—your results will be ready. Note that in some cases inconclusive results require us to do additional testing to determine your haplogroup. This may add several weeks to the process. In the meantime, visit the Web site to see where your sample is in the analysis process.
Get Your Results
Samples will be analyzed for genetic "markers" found in mitochondrial DNA and on the Y chromosome. We will be performing ONE OF two tests for each public participant:
| Males: Y-DNA test. This test allows you to identify your deep ancestral geographic origins on your direct paternal line. | |
| Females: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This tests the mtDNA of females to identify the ancestral migratory origins of your direct maternal line. |
To be clear—these tests are not conventional genealogy. Your results will not provide names for your personal family tree or tell you where your great grandparents lived. Rather, they will indicate the maternal or paternal genetic markers your deep ancestors passed on to you and the story that goes with those markers.
Once your results are posted, you will be able to learn something about that story and the journey of your ancestors. The genetic profile you receive is more than a static set of data. It is like an ongoing subscription to your genetic history. Your profile might become more detailed as the Genographic Project amasses more data from around the world, so be sure to return to the Genographic Project Web site for project updates.
Public participation is critical to the Project's success. By purchasing a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit, you will not only contribute to the impact of this great endeavor, but you may discover something about your own genetic past as well.
A Note on Privacy
To ensure the privacy of participants, we have built an anonymous analysis process. Your Participation Kit will be mailed with a randomly-generated, non-sequential Genographic Participant ID number (GPID). Although we will have mailed a Participation Kit to your address, we do not know the random code included in the Kit. When you send in your DNA sample with your consent form, they will only be identified by your GPID. Therefore, your cheek cells will be analyzed completely anonymously.
In order to access your test results, you will need to access the Genographic Project Web site and enter your GPID, so it is very important that you do not lose your GPID. See the Genographic Project Terms and Conditions for more information. Also, be sure to visit our FAQs.
For International Participants (outside the United States and Canada)
Public participation may be restricted in some countries where the export of genetic material requires government approval. China is one country that has such restrictions in place. The Genographic Project will work with the relevant authorities to achieve the broadest level of public participation possible.
https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/participate.html
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