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17．Study Unlocks Genetic Diversity in Africa The genetic study, a compilation of two big studies, confirms theories that modern humans evolved in Africa and then migrated through Europe and Asia to reach the Pacific and Americas. The study also shows that Africans have the most diverse DNA, and the fewest potentially harmful genetic mutations. Published in the US journal Science, researchers examined genetic material from 121 African populations, as well as four African-American populations and 60 non-African populations.? The study aims to teach Africans on population history and aid research into why diseases hit particular groups. The researchers found that after a population of humans migrated off the African continent, the group shrank? for some unknown reason. Later populations grew and spread from this smaller genetic pool of ancestors. Populations that remained in Africa kept their genetic diversity. Sarah Tishkoff, a geneticist from the University of Pennsylvania, says the results provided insights about levels and patterns of genetic diversity in Africa. That population had the highest levels of mixed ancestry on a global level.? So, they had almost equal proportions of ancestry from Europeans.? They also showed ancestry from East Asia, probably reflecting Southeast Asian ancestry, a little bit of Oceanic ancestry as well as south Indian ancestry, she said. Widespread migrations also occurred on the continent itself, according to researchers who identified 14 ancestral population clusters who one time shared? the same cultural characteristics and spoke the same languages. The study of African diversity promises to provide valuable information in the field of biomedicine.? Scott Williams is a co-author of the study and a professor of biophysiology at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. He says researchers will be able to trace diseases to certain Africa populations to help researchers understand their cause, with an eye toward developing treatments. The e