A few cheek swabs can unlock the mystery of your lineage.Personal genomics has become a burgeoning field, with interest on the rise and costs steadily plummeting. In fact, these days, you could get your genome sequenced for as little as a Benjamin.
National Geographic has been a player in the game for a while, launching its own Genographic Project in 2005 and following up with a 2.0 beta last December, which features a more robust sequencing chip. "In the first phase, we were using technology that was very cutting edge when it was launched back in 2005," says Spencer Wells, project director of the Genographic Project, which touts about 580,000 users as of mid-February. "Of course, times have moved on."
Its GenoChip, designed from the ground up, is reflective of this new era. To be sure, this isn't the most robust kit on the market, and it doesn't focus on genealogy or health. But the 150,000 DNA markers it analyzes were chosen for studying ancestry from an anthropological perspective, Wells says.
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