It may seem too much to expect that a person’s geographic origin can be determined from a DNA sample. But, thanks to a mathematical technique called principal component analysis, this can be done with remarkable accuracy. It works by reducing multi-dimensional data sets to just a few variables [TM189; or search for “thatsmaths” at irishtimes.com ].

Predicted locations for more than 1200 individuals, based on DNA markers in their genome (figure from Nature).
Continue reading ‘The Geography of Europe is Mapped in our Genes’