從口腔壁商刮下細胞可以提取出遺傳物質
科學家在非洲進行人類學研究
科學家正在進行DNA分析
DNA study of human migration National Geographic and IBM investigate spread of prehistoric peoples around world
Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
With a swab of cheek tissue and $100, you may be able to help scientists figure out how humans spread out across the earth.
IBM Corp. and the National Geographic Society will announce a project today to collect at least 100,000 DNA samples from people all over the globe to trace the routes of human migration.
The five-year project intends to create "the largest and most comprehensive public database of anthropological genetic information," the two groups said. It also is expected to boost Big Blue's profile in the multibillion-dollar life sciences technology market.
But some scientists say the project could reignite questions on the use of technology in studying human history, race and genetics.
Scientists have long tried to use genetic analysis and computer technology to probe the history of humankind and to determine how specific populations and communities emerged. But some critics have raised questions about ethical and cultural issues surrounding the collection of data from specific indigenous groups. Others point to privacy concerns surrounding the collection of DNA.
Despite those concerns, the IBM effort, dubbed the Genographic Project, could create the largest DNA record of humankind. Its findings, for instance, could help explain some of humans' epic migrations, such as the theory that people from Africa left the continent and followed the coasts of Arabia, India and Southeast Asia to Australia more than 50,000 years ago.
In an unusual move, scientists are allowing anyone to join the study by buying a "Participation Kit." Participants will use a plastic stick to scrape mucous membrane cells from the inside of a cheek and mail the tissue to National Geographic. The kit costs $99.95 plus shipping and handling.
"What we're trying to do is use genetics as a tool to infer details about our species, the human journey," said population geneticist Spencer Wells, who serves as National Geographic's explorer-in-residence. "Obviously, there's a huge amount of data that will be generated in the course of this project."
The project aims to "fill in the gaps in our knowledge of human history," Wells added in a statement. It will be spearheaded by 10 scientists from different research institutions such as the Laboratory of Human Population Genetics in Moscow, the Center for Excellence in Genomic Sciences in India and the Center for Genome Information at the University of Cincinnati.
In addition to IBM and National Geographic, the project is being financed by the Waitt Family Foundation, a charitable organization based in La Jolla (San Diego County). The scientists involved will collect DNA samples from different indigenous populations and transmit the data to National Geographic, which will use an IBM computer system to analyze the information.
Proceeds from the individual, $100 participation fees will help finance future research.
IBM and National Geographic also plan to put up an online museum with extensive information on human history, genetics, migration and history.
For Big Blue, the project is intended to raise the company's profile as a provider of technology to research institutions, both academic and governmental. Life Sciences is projected to grow into a $34 billion market by 2007, said IBM spokesman Jay Cadmus, citing industry figures.
IBM biologist Ajay Royyuru, senior manager of the company's Computational Biology Center, said, "We see this project as a fairly unique opportunity for us to apply technology on a very large scale. Projects like this don't come along very often."
The IBM-National Geographic project follows an earlier effort to collect genetic materials to study the history and patterns of human diversity.
Called the Human Genome Diversity Project, the international effort was financed by private foundations and government agencies. One of the project's leaders, Luca Cavalli-Sforza of Stanford University, also serves on the advisory board of the IBM-National Geographic project.
The earlier project, which was conducted in the early 1990s, collected 1, 064 genetic samples from 52 populations around the world. The data are housed at the Center for the Study of Polymorphism in Paris and have been used by nonprofit research laboratories.
Marc Feldman, a professor of biological sciences at Stanford University who was involved in the Human Genome Diversity Project, said the IBM-National Geographic partnership could give scientists "a better picture of the routes that migration took.
"We might be able to get a better estimate of the time at which migrations happened," he added.
Esteban Gonzalez Burchard, an assistant professor at the UCSF School of Medicine, also praised the involvement of IBM in the effort.
"I'm glad that private industry and a reputable agency like National Geographic have the motivation to take this one," said Burchard, who is also co-director of UCSF's DNA Banking Facility.
"What has been lacking in the genetics field is the full-scale analysis of the entire world," he added.
But Feldman said the IBM project must make clear how samples would be collected and how the information from the project would be used.
He cited the controversy that surrounded the Human Genome Diversity Project after some groups questioned its motives.
Some critics were worried that the DNA samples would be used for commercial purposes, while some populations, such as tribal groups in the United States and Australia, cited religious and cultural reasons in refusing to participate.
"Many American tribes indicated that they have no interest in providing information about their history because they know already," Feldman said. "They don't need biologists and anthropologists to tell them the history of their populations. ... A number of indigenous groups felt they would be exploited again."
Feldman said he was also worried about having individuals submit samples on their own. "I think that's a bad idea," he said, citing the need for scientific precision in obtaining samples.
Burchard of UCSF also questioned the use of data from people who pay to take part in the project. "You think some poor Indian in Guatemala is going to pay a hundred bucks to participate?" he asked.
Feldman echoed this point. "How do you get people in Central Asia and Central Africa to participate? You are going to have a biased view of the world."
IBM said having individuals submit samples on their own was only a component of the project and was aimed at boosting public awareness of the research effort.
The research team plans to work with different populations to persuade them to participate, Royyuru said. But unlike the Human Genome Diversity Project, the IBM-National Geographic research is focused on migration, not race.
"This is not an exercise in classifying people as this or that," he said. "This is an exercise in understanding your ancestors' history. It is the journey, really."
On the reliability of samples submitted by individuals, Royyuru said there was nothing complicated about using the stick in the kit to take a sample and then mailing it in.
"It's like brushing your teeth," he said.
But he conceded that some participants might submit material that might not be reliable, citing the experience of a private DNA analysis firm that is taking part in the project.
The Arizona firm had received a sample that seemed unusual. But the scientists easily solved the puzzle, Royyuru said.
"Someone had swabbed their dog," he said.
E-mail Benjamin Pimentel at [email protected]
昨日獲悉,，美國國家地理協(xié)會和IBM聯(lián)手，一起啟動了一個歷時5年的尋找現(xiàn)代人類遷移之旅探索活動,，人類究竟起源何處的答案也許不久將浮出水面,。來自美國、中國,、巴西,、南非、英國,、法國、俄羅斯,、黎巴嫩,、印度和澳大利亞的人類遺傳學家參與這次活動,。
這個由私人贊助的“尋找人類起源計劃”計劃旨在收集世界各地大約10萬個人的基因樣本，描制人類遷徙的路線圖,?？茖W家還計劃采集世界各地共10點的1萬名原住居民的血樣，因為這些原住居民的DNA中包含著遺傳的關鍵信息,。
在調查現(xiàn)場,，科學隊將賣給那些當對自己基因好奇的當?shù)厝艘惶變r值99美元的基因檢測設備，而所得的這些錢將被用于這個計劃的進一步進行,。獲得基因檢測設備的人將通過互聯(lián)網獲得一個匿名的身份號,，然后注冊自己檢測出來的相關信息，從而獲得自己究竟與世界上那個地方的人擁有共同的基因源,，理解自己家族進化的歷程,。比如，某個美國人可能與西班牙某一地方的人享有同樣的遺傳變種,。
“我們都曾屬于同一個祖先,，僅僅是隨著時間的流逝而被分離開來。”領導該計劃的人類基因學家斯賓賽-威爾說,。該研究科學家希望通過他們的努力能夠揭示人類的起源這個看似簡單的問題,，以及人類遷移的路線，從而更好地理解人種多樣化的原因,。
鏈接：人類起源說
關于人類起源一直以來存在很大的爭議,。達爾文曾在1871年出版的一本專著中推測，非洲是人類的搖籃,。此前在1863年,，則有人主張人類起源于南亞。后者不久得到了印證：1890年,，印尼發(fā)現(xiàn)了一具頭蓋骨,，“爪哇直立猿人”使人類起源南亞說為之一振。1927年,，中國發(fā)現(xiàn)“北京人”化石,，使中亞起源說更加風靡一時。但也就從這時起,，在南非,，在東非，有不下20個地點發(fā)現(xiàn)了最早階段的人類化石,，尤其是1974年,，在東非大裂谷所在的埃塞俄比亞，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一具保存40%遺骸的“露西少女”猿人骨架,，距今超300萬年,；加上非洲出土的大量早期人化石,，構成了一個相當完整的演化體系。于是,，全球人類“走出非洲”的學說一時勃興,。
SFGate.com4月13日報道，只要一塊頰部細胞膜的試樣和100美金,，你就有可能幫助科學家們斷定史前人類在地球上的分布情況,。
IBM和美國國家地理協(xié)會宣布進行一項計劃，雙方聯(lián)手在全球范圍內收集10萬份人類DNA標本來描繪出史前人類遷移的路線,。
這兩大集團稱,，這一歷時五年的計劃旨在創(chuàng)造出“世界上最大最全面的人類基因信息公共數(shù)據(jù)庫”。這一計劃將幫助藍色巨人在具有數(shù)百億美元潛力的生命科學市場中提高自己的地位,。
不過有些科學家稱該計劃將重新引發(fā)利用技術研究人類歷史,、種族以及基因的種種問題。
科學家們一直在嘗試使用基因分析以及電腦技術來研究人類的歷史,、確定人類種族以及人類社會到底是怎么形成的,。所以一些批評者認為，收集特定人群的基因數(shù)據(jù)將會導致相關倫理以及文化問題,。而其他人則對收集這樣的信息對個人隱私將造成的影響憂心忡忡,。
盡管如此，這個被稱為“基因圖庫”的計劃在IBM公司的努力下,，將建成最大的人類DNA記錄,。這個計劃的成果將有助于解釋人類歷史上一些大規(guī)模遷徙活動，比如說,，早在5萬年前,，居住在非洲的人類如何離開非洲大陸，如何沿著阿拉伯,、印度以及南亞的海岸線到達了澳大利亞,。
與以往科學研究計劃不同的是，科學家們允許任何人參加這項研究計劃,。參與者需要做的就是先購買一套“參與工具”然后,，然后他們使用一個小塑料棍從臉頰內部刮下一點黏液狀的細胞膜，再把樣本寄到國家地理協(xié)會就可以了?，F(xiàn)在這個工具包的售價是99.95美元,。
“我們想做的是利用遺傳學來推斷出人類種族以及遷徙過程的細節(jié)，”國家地理協(xié)會德人口遺傳學家斯賓塞`維爾說,。“很明顯,，在整個計劃過程中我們將會收集到海量數(shù)據(jù)。”
維爾,，稱這個計劃的目標是“填補人類歷史知識的空缺”,。這一計劃將由10位來自不同研究機構的科學家?guī)ь^進行,，例如位于莫斯科的人類人口基因實驗室,，印度基因科學英才中心,，美國辛辛那提州立大學基因組信息中心等。
除了IBM和美國國家地理協(xié)會,，總部設在拉賀加（美國圣地亞哥）的一個慈善機構——威特家族基金會也資助了這一計劃,。參加這一計劃的科學家們將向不同的人群收集DNA樣本并將數(shù)據(jù)發(fā)送到國家地理協(xié)會，然后使用IBM的計算機系統(tǒng)對這些信息進行分析,。
而個人參與者所繳納的100美元的費用也將被用于資助研究計劃進一步進行,。
IBM和國家地理協(xié)會同樣計劃成立一個囊括人類歷史、遺傳學以及人類遷移歷史等大量信息的在線博物館,。
對于為政府以及學術機構提供技術的藍色巨人來說,，這一計劃將有助于提高該公司在這一領域的地位。IBM發(fā)言人坎莫斯引用工業(yè)數(shù)據(jù)稱,，生命科學預計在2007年將發(fā)展為具有340億美元潛力的市場,。
IBM公司計算機生物中心的高級負責人，生物學家阿堅·羅烏說：“我們認為此項計劃是大規(guī)模使用科學技術的一個絕佳機會,。這樣的機會可不是隨時都有的,。”
這一計劃將延續(xù)早期科學家們?yōu)榱搜芯咳祟悮v史以及人類基因組差異性模式的基因材料收集工作。
早期進行的“人類基因組差異性計劃”是在私人基金會和政府組織的資助下進行的一次國際性研究,。這一早期計劃的負責人之一,，斯坦福大學的盧卡?卡瓦立夫目前是IBM與國家地理協(xié)會這一計劃顧問團的成員之一。
這一計劃前期工作已在二十世紀九十年代完成,，大約收集了全球52個人群的1064份基因樣本,。這些數(shù)據(jù)都儲存在巴黎基因組差異性研究中心供非營利性實驗室的研究使用。
斯坦福大學的生物科學教授馬克·費德曼也曾參加過“人類基因組差異性計劃”,，他認為IBM與國家地理協(xié)會的合作將時科學家們更好的了解人類遷徙的路線,。
“我們可能更精確地推斷出遷徙發(fā)生的時間，”他補充說,。
以特班·布查德,，美國舊金山大學醫(yī)學院的一位副教授很贊同IBM公司將在這一計劃中所起的作用。
“私營企業(yè)和國家地理協(xié)會這樣有名望的機構能夠開展這樣的研究,，我很高興,，” 布查德說，他現(xiàn)在是美國舊金山大學醫(yī)學院基因銀行項目的聯(lián)合總監(jiān),。
“現(xiàn)在遺傳學領域所缺的正是這樣大規(guī)模全球性的分析研究,，”他補充說。
但是費德曼稱IBM公司必須了解該怎樣收集樣本以及怎樣使用這一計劃的研究結果,。他舉例說,，一些組織開始質疑“人類基因組差異性計劃”的出發(fā)點之后,，人們就這一問題開始了一場論戰(zhàn)。
一些評論家擔心DNA樣本就會使用在商業(yè)目的,，而另外一些人群,，例如美國和澳大利亞的部落群體將會以宗教或文化傳統(tǒng)為由而拒絕參加。
“很多美國部落人群聲明對提供基因信息來研究人類歷史毫無興趣,，因為他們對自己的民族歷史已經十分了解,，”費德曼說。“他們不需要生物學家或人類學家來給他們講述民族歷史這樣的問題……有的部落甚至認為自己將再次受到剝削,。”
費德曼說自己也很擔心個人參與者自行提取并提交樣本,。“我認為這個主意糟透了，”他認為,。“科學研究使用的樣本必須要保證精確,。”來自美國舊金山大學的布查德同樣質疑那些來自付費參加研究項目參與者的樣本數(shù)據(jù)的可靠性。“你認為危地馬拉的印第安人會支付100美金來參加這樣的研究計劃么,？”他問道,。
費德曼也持有同樣的看法：“怎樣讓中亞或中非的人們參加這個計劃？人們對這一計劃的看法將不盡相同,。”
IBM公司稱動員個人自行送交樣本僅僅是該計劃的一部分,，這一做法的目的是促進公眾參與科學研究的意識。
研究小組計劃動員不同的人群來參加這一研究計劃,，羅烏稱,。但是不同于“人類基因組差異性計劃”，IBM與國家地理協(xié)會的這個計劃的重點放在人類遷移,，而不是種族,。
“這可不是要把人分成不同的類別，”他說,。“這是為了讓我們更加了解人類祖先的歷史,。這真的就像是研究一個旅程。”
關于參與者樣本的可靠性,，羅烏稱取樣工作僅需使用工具包中的取樣棍取樣,，然后寄給國家地理協(xié)會就可以，整個過程毫不復雜,。
“這感覺起來就像是在刷牙一樣,，”他說。
但是他也承認,，有些參與者可能會提供不大可靠的樣本,，亞馬遜公司已經收到了一份“與眾不同”的樣本——狗的試樣。不過科學家們輕松地解決了這個問題。
