« Syllabus approved | Main | A down day »
February 03, 2006
From the Open Source Office
We find ourselves on this eerily warm, rainy day in the Radio Open Source studio, 15 Mt. Auburn, Cambridge. It is a pretty typical Friday here at Open Source; the show is only Monday-Thursday, so Friday is dedicated to long-term planning for Monday, the next week and the major issues for the weeks and month to come.
Without giving away too much, I can report that the crew is working on Al Jazeera (Greta) and genetic genealogy (Henry), as well as highway development and Frank Rich. I stumbled into a constellation of books by scientists and other people that get into the Xs and Ys of biological geography. A few tidbits, according to widely circulated studies: half of Ashkenazi Jews can be traced back to the mtDNA of four women; and roughly 16 million people across Central Asia can be traced, through their Y-chromosomes, to Genghis Khan. Rape and pillage, indeed.
I think the most fascinating part of this work is the connection between the genetic investigation and the greater body of accepted historical knowledge. The data these sleuths mined through didn't include a tag that says "Genghis was here." And yet, when they traced predominant genetic factors back to their origin, they ended up in the same time and place as one of the world's most infamous strongmen (and his kingly sons). Another eddy I slipped into suggested that something like a twelth of Irish men can be traced to some character called Niall of the Nine Hostages.
I, for one, am a member of this 21st century community. My parents and I contributed to a genetic study on Ashkenazi Jews who (seem to) have a family history of Crohn's Disease, of which I am a proud bearer. It doesn't promise any benefits to me or my family, but I was happy to become a statistic in this way, another data point in the picture of my disease.
There is so much to write about and I am very wary of becoming someone who spends more time analyzing and reccounting than living. However, I am very intruiged to see what I can make of this. So stay tuned.
Posted by Henry Shepherd at February 3, 2006 03:11 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.watsonblogs.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/296
Comments
one of my favorite subjects (esp consideribg I know next to nothing about it). last I read was that Ashkenazi Jews were the Jews of ancient Rome...?
Posted by: auntie at February 5, 2006 04:58 PM
Hello, Thayer by association,
I was diagnosed with breast cancer at an early age (38) and my oncologist suggested genetic testing to see if there is some genetic predisposition to this disease. The question of whether I am of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, since Ashkenazis are predisposed more than any other group to cancers of breast and ovary, and there is a separate genetic test for that group. This is quite an interesting puzzle for me, having grown up an Episcopalian in the Boston area with a maiden name of Thayer (Note the coincidences!) and with no real knowlege of being Jewish! Recently we found documentation about an aunt that started a Bnai B'rith chapter in the early 1900's...Sophhie Hoechstetter...wow! HEY! Are we Jewish?! The revelations are snowballing (i.e. THAT's why Uncle Jim looks like a little old Jewish man!) I'm just starting to search my ancestry, and wonder if you might have any suggestions about where to start. How would one find out whether one is Ashkenazi in the first place? Any insight is most welcome.
Sincerely,
Tracy Thayer Torres
Posted by: Tracy Torres at March 7, 2006 07:57 PM
Hi Tracy,
You can follow a developing, vibrant conversation about genetics and genealogy over at Radio Open Source, where I am a research intern and where I was turned on to this story. As far as other sources go, I tagged a few pages using del.icio.us. This MSNBC page hits all of the high notes, including an article about Ashkenazi genetic tracing. I wonder for both of us and for millions around the world: will we invest in genetic tracing for sport? for medicine? towards some sinister end? What is going to drive this engine forward, and what will stagnate it. Of course I'd love to turn genetic testing of cancer or Crohn's Disease into improved treatment, but can you really have this research without the pseudo-scientific detours or thoroughly scientific and ethically questionable practices? I fear it may be like trying to get a country to develop civilian nuclear energy without somehow figuring out how to take the next step...
Posted by: Henry Shepherd at March 7, 2006 09:57 PM
