TAU research says genetics can reveal your geographic ancestral
origin While your DNA is unique, it also tells the tale of your
family line. It carries the genetic history of your ancestors
down through the generations. Now, says a Tel Aviv University
researcher, it's also possible to use it as a map to your
family's past. Prof. Eran Halperin of TAU's Blavatnik School of
Computer Science and Department of Molecular Microbiology and
Biotechnology, along with a group of researchers from University
of California, Los Angeles, are giving new meaning to the term
"genetic mapping." Using a probabilistic model of genetic traits
for every coordinate on the globe, the researchers have
developed a method for determining more precisely the
geographical location of a person's ancestral origins. The new
method is able to pinpoint more specific locations for an
individual's ancestors, for example placing an individual's
father in Paris and mother in Barcelona. Previous methods would
"split the difference" and place this or