{{Short description|Citizen science project}} {{Distinguish|text=the computer graphics business Genigraphics}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} thumb|right|{{center|'''Genographic Project'''}} {{genetic genealogy}} The '''Genographic Project''', launched on 13 April 2005 by the National Geographic Society and IBM, was a genetic anthropological study that aimed to map historical human migrations patterns by collecting and analyzing DNA samples.<ref name="ResponsibleGenographics">{{cite web |url=http://www.gene-watch.org/programs/privacy/ResponsibleGenographics.html |title=Council for Responsible Genetics |access-date=2015-05-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516054252/http://www.gene-watch.org/programs/privacy/ResponsibleGenographics.html |archive-date=2008-05-16 }}</ref>
The final phase of the project was Geno 2.0 Next Generation.<ref name="Geno 2.0">{{cite web |title=Geno 2.0 Next Generation |url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122064832/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/about/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-22 |website=National Geographic |access-date=2018-06-28 |date=2018-06-28 }}</ref>
Upon retirement of the site, 1,006,543 participants in over 140 countries had joined the project.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-17 |title=National Geographic Geno DNA Ancestry Kit {{!}} Human Migration, Population Genetics |url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/#:~:text=1,006,543,140%20COUNTRIES |access-date=2024-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617081334/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/#:~:text=1,006,543,140%20COUNTRIES |archive-date=2020-06-17 }}</ref>
== Project history == === Beginnings === In 2005, project director Spencer Wells created and then led the Genographic Project, which was a privately funded, not-for-profit collaboration among the National Geographic Society, IBM, and the Waitt Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ocean Protection Funding |url=https://www.waittfoundation.org |website=Waitt Foundation |access-date=2022-01-25 |location=La Jolla, California |language=en}}</ref> Field researchers at eleven regional centers around the world began by collecting DNA samples from indigenous populations.{{fact|date=September 2025}}
thumb|200px|Phylogeny of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups (2007). In the fall of 2012, the Genographic Project announced the completion of a new genotyping array, dedicated to genetic anthropology, called ''GenoChip''. GenoChip was specifically designed for anthropological testing and included SNPs from autosomal DNA, X-chromosome DNA, Y-chromosome DNA, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The design of the new chip was a collaborative effort among Wells of National Geographic, Eran Elhaik of Johns Hopkins, Family Tree DNA, and Illumina.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The GenoChip: A New Tool for Genetic Anthropology |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |date=2013-05-09 |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=1021–1031 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evt066 |url=https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/5/5/1021/611342?login=false |access-date=2018-06-28 |doi-access=free |last1=Elhaik |first1=Eran |last2=Greenspan |first2=Elliott |last3=Staats |first3=Sean |last4=Krahn |first4=Thomas |last5=Tyler-Smith |first5=Chris |last6=Xue |first6=Yali |last7=Tofanelli |first7=Sergio |last8=Francalacci |first8=Paolo |last9=Cucca |first9=Francesco |last10=Pagani |first10=Luca |last11=Jin |first11=Li |last12=Li |first12=Hui |last13=Schurr |first13=Theodore G. |last14=Greenspan |first14=Bennett |last15=Spencer Wells |first15=R. |pmid=23666864 |pmc=3673633}}</ref>
The autosomal admixture analysis developed by Wells and Elhaik classified individuals by assessing their proportions of genomic ancestry related to nine ancestral regions: Northeast Asian; Mediterranean; Southern African; Southwest Asian; Oceanian; Southeast Asian; Northern European; Sub-Saharan African; and Native American.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who Am I: Regions Overview |url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/regions/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030185819/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/regions/ |archive-date=2014-10-30 |access-date=2022-11-30 }}</ref>
In August 2015, a new chip was designed as a joint effort between Vilar, who was the Genographic Lead Scientist, and Family Tree DNA.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-05 |title='Geno 2.0: Next Generation' Reveals New Details of Your Ancient Ancestry {{!}} National Geographic (blogs) |url=http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/12/what-is-geno-2-0-next-generation/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905144354/http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/12/what-is-geno-2-0-next-generation/ |archive-date=2015-09-05 }}</ref>
In the fall of 2015, Miguel Vilar took over leadership of the Project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Miguel Vilar is the 29th Speaker in UOG Presidential Lecture Series |url=https://www.uog.edu/news-announcements-migrated/dr-miguel-vilar-is-the-29th-speaker-in-uog-presidential-lecture-series.php |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=University of Guam}}</ref>
=== Geno 2.0 Next Generation === In 2016, the project began utilizing cutting-edge<ref name="Geno 2.0" /> Helix DNA sequencing for a new phase of the Genographic Project called Geno 2.0 Next Generation.<ref name="Geno 2.0" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.helix.com/shop/national-geographic-geno-2-next-generation/ |title=Helix DNA Sequencing and Geno 2.0 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021021235/https://www.helix.com/shop/national-geographic-geno-2-next-generation |archivedate=2023-10-21 |work=Helix |date=2018-01-26 |accessdate=2018-06-28 }}</ref>
Whereas earlier phases used 9 regional affiliations, Geno 2.0 Next Generation analyzed modern-day indigenous populations around the world using either 18 or 22 regional affiliations.<ref name="reference populations">{{cite web |title=Next Generation Reference Populations |url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations-next-gen/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407092418/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations-next-gen/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-04-07 |website=National Geographic |access-date=2018-06-28 |date=2018-02-23 }}</ref>
Utilizing a DNA-collection kit, Helix would acquire a saliva sample from a participant, which would then be analyzed for genomic identifiers that were designed to offer unprecedented<ref name="Geno 2.0" /> insight into a person's genetic origins.<ref name="Geno 2.0" /> The data would then be uploaded to the Genographic Project DNA database.<ref name="Geno 2.0" />
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |- !style="background:#f0f0f0;" align="center" | Population!!Mediterranean!!Northern European!!Southwest Asian!!Sub-Saharan African!!Southern African!!Northeast Asian!!Southeast Asian!!Native American!!Oceanian!!Total |- | Altaian||2||17||22||||||53||||4||||98 |- | Amerindian (Mexico)||4||5||3||||||4||||83||||99 |- | Bermudian||15||20||7||48||3||||7||4||||100 |- | British||33||50||17||||||||||||||100 |- | Bulgarian||47||31||20||||||2||||||||100 |- | Chinese||||||||||||72||28||||||100 |- | Danish||30||53||16||||||||||||||99 |- | Dominican||29||11||1||47||1||1||1||4||||95 |- | Eastern Indian||2||2||43||||||||50||||2||99 |- | Egyptian||65||||18||14||||||||||||97 |- | Finnish||17||57||17||||||7||||||||98 |- | Georgian||61||7||31||||||||||||||99 |- | German||36||46||17||||||||||||||99 |- | Greek||54||28||17||||||||||||||99 |- | Iberian||48||37||13||||||||||||||98 |- | Iranian||42||8||42||||||5||||||||97 |- | Japanese||||||||||||75||25||||||100 |- | Khoisan ||||||||47||52||||||||||99 |- | Kinh ||||||||||||57||43||||||100 |- | Kuwaiti||57||4||27||8||||2||||||||98 |- | Lebanese||66||5||26||2||||||||||||99 |- | Luhya ||2||||||89||8||||||||||99 |- | Malagasy ||2||||||57||4||15||20||||||98 |- | Mexican||28||20||8||4||||||2||36||||98 |- | Mongolian||||2||7||||||76||10||5||||100 |- | Northern Caucasian||46||16||33||||||4||||||||99 |- | Northern Indian||6||5||34||||||26||27||||||98 |- | Oceanian||||||||||||||12||||88||100 |- | Papuan ||||||||||||5||4||||91||100 |- | Highland Peruvian||2||2||||||||||||95||||99 |- | Peruvians||15||10||3||2||||||||68||||98 |- | Puerto Rican||31||21||9||25||2||||||11||||99 |- | Romanian||43||36||19||||||2||||||||100 |- | Russians||25||51||18||||||4||||||||98 |- | Sardinian||67||24||8||||||||||||||99 |- | Southern Indian||4||2||58||||||||35||||||99 |- | Tajikistan||22||22||44||||||10||||||||98 |- | Tatar ||21||40||21||||||16||||||||98 |- | Tunisian||62||6||10||19||||||2||||||99 |- | Tuscan||54||28||17||||||||||||||99 |- | Vanuatu||||||||||||4||15||||78||97 |- | Western Indian||9||6||58||||||||26||||||99 |- | Yoruba people ||||||||97||3||||||||||100 |- |}
{| class="wikitable" |+Reference Populations Next-Gen based on Biogeographical Ancestry<ref>{{Citation |title=National Geographic Geno 2.0 Project |url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations-next-gen/ |access-date=2018-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031612/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations-next-gen// |url-status=dead |quote= |archive-date=2017-02-07}}</ref> !Population !Arabia !Asia Minor !Central Asia !Eastern Africa !Eastern Europe !Great Britain & Ireland !Jewish Diaspora !Northern Africa !Southern Africa !Southern Asia !Southwest Asia & Persian Gulf !Southern Europe !Western & Central Africa |- |African-American (Southwestern USA) | | | |2% | |4% | | |9% | | |3% |81% |- |Egyptian | |3% | |3% | | |4% |68% | | |17% |3% | |- |Ethiopian |11% | | |64% | | | |5% |7% |8% | | |5% |- |Greek | |9% | | |7% | |2% |2% | | | |79% | |- |Iranian |56% |6% |4% |4% | | | |2% | |24% | |2% | |- |Kuwaiti | |7% | |3% | | | |4% | | |84% | | |- |Luhya (Kenyan) | | | |81% | | | |4% |4% |4% |2% | |5% |- |Tunisian | | | | | | | |88% | | |4% |5% |2% |- |Yoruban (West African) | | | |2% | | | |3% |6% | | | |89% |}
===Endings=== In the spring of 2019, it was announced{{when|date=September 2025}}{{who|date=September 2025}}{{why|date=September 2025}} that the Geno project had ended, but results would remain available online until 2020.{{clarifyme|date=September 2025}}{{fact|date=September 2025}}
In July 2020, the site was retired.{{fact|date=September 2025}}
== Legacy == thumb|200px |Genographic Project public participation. For the duration of the initiative, from 2005 to 2019, Genographic engaged volunteers (in fieldwork and providing DNA samples) and citizen science projects. During this time the National Geographic Society sold non-profit self-testing kits to members of the general public who wished to participate in the project as "citizen scientists". Such outreach for public participation in research has been encouraged by organizations such as International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), which is seeking to promote benefits from scientific research.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bonney |first1=R. |last2=LaBranche |first2=M. |title=Citizen Science: Involving the Public in Research |journal=ASTC Dimensions |date=2004 |issue=May/June 2004 |page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baretto |first1=C. |last2=Fastovsky |first2=D. |last3=Sheehan |first3=P. |title=A Model for Integrating the Public into Scientific Research |journal=Journal of Geoscience Education |date=2003 |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=71–75 |doi=10.5408/1089-9995-51.1.71 |bibcode=2003JGeEd..51...71B |s2cid=67761505 |url=https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=geo_facpubs|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCaffrey |first1=R. E. |title=Using Citizen Science in Urban Bird Studies |journal=Urban Habitats |date=2005 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=70–86}}</ref> This includes supporting, organization and dissemination of personal DNA (genetic) testing
The ISOGG has supported citizen participation in genetic research,<ref name=KingJobling>{{cite journal |last1=King |doi=10.1016/j.tig.2009.06.003 |quote=The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (www.isogg.org) advocates the use of genetics as a tool for genealogical research, and provides a support network for genetic genealogists. It hosts the ISOGG Y-haplogroup tree, which has the virtue of being regularly updated. |title=What's in a name? Y chromosomes, surnames and the genetic genealogy revolution |year=2009 |first1=Turi E. |last2=Jobling |first2=Mark A. |journal=Trends in Genetics |volume=25 |issue=8 |pages=351–60 |pmid=19665817 |hdl=2381/8106 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/10096019 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> and believes such volunteers have provided valuable information and research to the professional scientific community.<ref name=AJHG>{{Cite journal |last=Mendex, etc. al. |first=Fernando |title=An African American Paternal Lineage Adds an Extremely Ancient Root to the Human Y Chromosome Phylogenetic Tree |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |date=2013-02-28 |publisher=The American Society of Human Genetics |volume=92 |issue=3 |pages=454–459 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.02.002 |pmid=23453668 |pmc=3591855 }}</ref>
In 2013, Spencer Wells gave a speech to the Southern California Genealogical Society, in which he highlighted its encouragement of citizen scientists: <blockquote>Since 2005, the Genographic Project has used the latest genetic technology to expand our knowledge of the human story, and its pioneering use of DNA testing to engage and involve the public in the research effort has helped to create a new breed of "citizen scientist". Geno 2.0 expands the scope for citizen science, harnessing the power of the crowd to discover new details of human population history.<ref name=Wells>{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Spencer |title=The Genographic Project and the Rise of Citizen Science |publisher=Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) |year=2013 |url=http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/Jamboree/2013/DNAday.htm |access-date=2013-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710014353/http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/Jamboree/2013/DNAday.htm |archive-date=2013-07-10}}</ref></blockquote>
== Criticism == {{See also|Archaeology of the Americas|Models of migration to the New World}} In April 2005, shortly after the announcement of the project, the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism (IPCB) noted its connections to controversial issues (such as concern among some tribes that the results of genetic human migration studies might indicate that Native Americans are not indigenous to North America). The IPCB recommended against indigenous people participating.<ref name="harry">{{cite journal |last1=Harry |first1=Debra |first2=Le'a Malia |last2=Kanehe |url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/genetic-research-collecting-blood-preserve-culture |title=Genetic Research: Collecting Blood to Preserve Culture? |journal=Cultural Survival |date=7 May 2010 |volume=29.4 |issue=Winter 2005 |accessdate=2014-02-04 }}</ref>
The founder of IPCB, Debra Harry, offered a rationale for why Indigenous people were discouraged to participate in the Genographic Project. According to Harry, a Northern Paiute Native American and Associate Professor in Indigenous Studies at Nevada University, the Genographic Project resulted in a human genetic testing practice that appeared to mask an ulterior motive rather than mere scientific research. Particularly, the great concern about the possible political interest behind the Genographic Project, motivated the IPCB to preemptively alert the global indigenous community on the "not so altruistic motivations"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism |url=http://ipcb.org/issues/human_genetics/htmls/legacyfund_rfp.html |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=ipcb.org}}</ref> of the project. Additionally, IPCB argued that the Genographic project not only provided no direct benefit to Indigenous peoples, but instead raised considerable risks. Such risks, raised by Harry in an interview released in December 2005, were used to advocate against the indigenous participation in the project.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2005-12-01 |title=Interview with Debra Harry and the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism |url=https://newint.org/columns/makingwaves/2005/12/01/debra-harry |access-date=9 November 2022 |website=New Internationalist |language=en |archive-date=2022-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024191606/https://newint.org/columns/makingwaves/2005/12/01/debra-harry |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Another argument, made by IPCB founder Debra Harry, was that the Genographic Project served as a method to discredit kin relations through the possibility that ancestral identities might be invalidated and misused to deny Indigenous peoples’ access and authority over the resource-rich territories that they had for long inhabited.<ref name=":0" />
The IPCB also suggested that another attempt at biocolonialism in the Genographic Project involved the high probability of genetic testing results producing statistical errors, such as false negatives and positives leading to the misidentification of Native people as non-Native and vice versa.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Ellen |first=Samuels |title=Fantasies of identification : disability, gender, race |date=2014 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-1-4798-1298-1 |oclc=900357752}}</ref>
TallBear expressed that another possible negative consequence might be the risk that an individual's cultural identity would be conclusively established through biocolonialist projects such as the Genographic Project.<ref name=":1" /> Ultimately, TallBear's argument was viewed as in close agreement with Harry's concerns regarding the Genographic Project, serving as a significant force motivating IPCB to advocate against Biocolonialism.{{fact|date=September 2025}}
In May 2006, the project came to the attention of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). UNPFII conducted investigations into the objectives of the Genographic Project, and recommended that National Geographic and other sponsors suspend the project.<ref name="DNA Gatherers Hit Snag">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/us/10dna.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all |title=DNA Gatherers Hit Snag: Tribes Don't Trust Them |first=Amy |last=Harmon |work=The New York Times |date=10 December 2006}}</ref> Concerns were that the knowledge gleaned from the research could clash with long-held beliefs of indigenous peoples and threaten their cultures. There were also concerns that indigenous claims to land rights and other resources could be threatened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ipcb.org/issues/human_genetics/htmls/unpfii_rec.html |title=United Nations Recommends Halt to Genographic Project |publisher=ipcb}}</ref>
{{As of|2006|12}}, some federally recognized tribes in the United States declined to take part in the study including Maurice Foxx, chairman of the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs and a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag.<ref name="DNA Gatherers Hit Snag" />
Not all Indigenous peoples agree with his position; {{As of|2012|12|lc=on}}, more than 70,000 indigenous participants from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania had joined the project.<ref name="reference populations" />
== See also == {{Div col}} * {{annotated link|Genealogical DNA test}} * {{annotated link|Genetic diversity}} * {{annotated link|Human genetic variation}} * {{annotated link|Human genetics}} * {{annotated link|Human migration}} * {{annotated link|Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups}} * {{annotated link|Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups}} * {{annotated link|Mitochondrial Eve}} * {{annotated link|Personal Genomics}} * {{annotated link|Y-chromosomal Adam}} * {{annotated link|Y-chromosome haplogroups in populations of the world}} {{Div col end}}
== References == {{Reflist|1}}
==Bibliography== ===News articles=== * {{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/04/12/genographic/index.html |title=Finding the roots of modern humans |publisher=CNN |date=14 April 2005}} * {{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2005-04-12-genographic-project_x.htm |title='Genographic Project' aims to tell us where we came from |work=USA Today |date=17 April 2005}} * [http://ipcb.org/issues/human_genetics/htmls/geno_pr.html "Indigenous Peoples Oppose National Geographic"], Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, 13 April 2005. * [http://www.db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193105321 "Tracking the Truth"], ''DB2 Magazine'' (IBM), information about IBM's role in the project. December 2006. * [http://www.isogg.org/gss.htm Genographic Success Stories] * {{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7316281.stm |title=Crusaders left genetic legacy |publisher=BBC News |date=27 March 2008}} * {{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7358868.stm |title=Human Line 'Nearly split in Two' |publisher=BBC News |date=24 April 2008}}
== External links == ===Official sites=== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130122064832/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/about/ Genographic Project] official site at National Geographic * [https://www.arl.arizona.edu/ Arizona Research Laboratories (ARL)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009230053/http://arl.arizona.edu/ |date=9 October 2022 }} * [https://www.waittfoundation.org/ Waitt Family Foundation] ===Videos=== * {{YouTube|tmHloU_xEJo|Spencer Wells: Building a family tree for all humanity}}, on TED, 29 August 2008.
{{Genealogical DNA test}} {{Genealogy software}}
Category:Genographic Project Category:Human genome projects Genographic Category:Citizen science Category:Crowdsourcing Category:American genealogy websites Category:Internet properties established in 2005 Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2019 Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2020 Category:2005 establishments in the United States Category:2019 disestablishments in the United States