Saxons, Vikings and Celts - Bryan Sykes

 

It took me a while to get through this one.  I've read other of Sykes's books; Adam's Curse and The Seven Daughters of Eve where he had written about Y-DNA and Mitochondrial DNA.  In this book, he builds on those to share his research into the Y and mtDNA of the British Isles.  At the same time he gives a history lesson on the inhabitants and migration of people to the lands.  

It took a long time to wade through the history to reach his summary of the different haplogroups he found in the regions and his interpretation of their meaning.  His research concluded that the origins of the people of the British Isles are primarily Celtic, which is no different from Picts, overlaid with a bit of Vikings and Saxons.  The female lines show a greater influx of women brought to the land and the male lines show the persistence of the ancient settlers although the Genghis Khan affect left secondary group of conquering subsequent intruders. He also used male and female names for the haplogroups as a means of personalizing the ancestral lines instead of reducing them to a code.  Its good background for genealogists and historians.

Published: 2006 Read: Genre: Science, History

Control - Adam Rutherford

 Sub-title: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics

With my recent delving into genetics use for law enforcement cases and discussions about the ethics of the practice, this book caught my eye at the library.  The author reviews the history and widespread belief in eugenics in the past and its re-emergence in the present.  Its disheartening to see how the human race so readily embraces the desire to be better than others rather than being a better self. 

The ability to alter our genetics before birth and/or after is moving ahead rapidly (the author cites the gene altering done in China to prevent HIV in the embryos of two sisters whose father was HIV positive) and the point of the book is to raise questions about the ethics and impacts.  A thoughtful read.

Quotes:

"Embryo selection for traits (as opposed to diseases) is not permitted in most countries in the world with the notable exception of the United States."

Companies - Genomic Predictions, Inc; Orchid Health, MyOme

Published:  2023  Read: August 2023  Genre: History