27 million people connected: The largest family tree in the world made

Summary

Scientists at the University of Oxford have constructed the largest human family tree to date, connecting 27 million people and incorporating ancient DNA, to uncover new insights into human evolution and genetic diversity.

Abstract

Researchers at the University of Oxford have created an extensive genealogical network, the largest in history, which links approximately 27 million individuals from various global locations, including 231 million lineages. This monumental family tree, which integrates genetic data from both living individuals and ancient remains such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, provides a detailed look at the interconnectedness of humanity. The project, facilitated by the advancement in genome data processing, not only sheds light on our evolutionary past but also holds potential for future discoveries in medical genetics and the understanding of species evolution.

Opinions

Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Institute for Big Data emphasize that the study of modern and ancient human genomes has revealed unknown aspects of our evolutionary history.
Dr. Jan Wong, an evolutionary geneticist involved in the project, describes it as a massive family tree that reconstructs human history to explain current genetic diversity.
The study's author suggests that the methodology used in this research is applicable to other species and could be particularly beneficial in the field of medical genetics.

27 million people connected: The largest family tree in the world made

Scientists have created the world’s latest family tree in history, connecting about 27 million people — living and dead — from around the world, including 231 million lineages. Developed at the University of Oxford in England, the expansive genealogical network — which researchers say is the largest human genealogy to date — reveals how individuals around the world are interconnected. The research processed data from living people who gave samples, as well as the remains of ancient people — Neanderthals, Denisovans, and a small family that lived in Siberia more than four thousand years ago.

“By studying modern and ancient sequences of the human genome, we have discovered previously unknown characteristics of our evolutionary past”, said researchers at the University of Oxford’s Institute for Big Data.

As genome data processing progresses and accelerates — through the sequencing of population-level biobanks and ancient specimens from around the world — the potential for an increasingly detailed understanding of how species have evolved is growing.

Author and evolutionary geneticist Dr. Jan Wong describes the project as “essentially a huge family tree.”

“We basically built a huge family tree, a genealogy for all of humanity that reaches as far as it can, reconstructed a history that created all the genetic variations we find in humans today,” Dr. Wong said.

“Although humans are the focus of this study, the method is valid for most living things, from orangutans to bacteria. It could be especially useful in medical genetics,“ said the study’s author.