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Published online 13 November 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.1227
News: Q&A
The pitfalls of tracing your ancestry
Charmaine Royal of the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy explains the limitations of genetic testing.
Ancestry testing is genetics' most direct and sometimes tempestuous interaction with personal identity. An estimated half-a-million Americans will purchase genetic tests from companies this year and thousands more will participate in university research where such tests will be used.
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What about you accountability?
I believed that our ancestors were African, no ?
If someone wants to know where their ancestors came from, it doesn't mean that they have unscientific ideas about race; it simply means that they'd like to know where their ancestors came from.