Researchers from Living DNA and the University of Strathclyde need to collect DNA from 3000 Scottish people whose grandparents were born before 1935 and all lived within 50 miles of each other. The aim is to build the most detailed and accurate regional map of Scotland’s genetic history.
The One Family Scottish Research Project is now calling for qualifying participants to come forward from this region. Living DNA founder David Nicholson said: “Our DNA is hugely powerful, and it can show incredible stories about our past and our families – specifically, that we are all truly connected to one another. Whilst we already have a good outline of Scotland’s history, through analysing the DNA of 3000 Scottish people we can add much more colour to the story and pull together an incredibly detailed picture of the country’s rich genetic history. The data gathered here will help us identify exactly where in Scotland a person’s ancestors are from. It’s really important that participants have all four grandparents born within 50 miles of one another. They must be born before 1935 too to help us get the results we need.”
Alasdair Macdonald, from the University of Strathclyde’s department of genealogical studies, added: “I am delighted to be working on this project to accurately map the genetic structure of Scotland. This will look to reveal the impact of the various peoples from across Western Europe who have settled here and made it their home.”
The Scottish project forms part of Living DNA’s One Family research which sets out to build a worldwide genetic family tree as well as producing a fine scale map of the world’s ancestry, to help explore and understand both recent and ancient migrations. The overall goal is to show how populations across the world are connected, breaking down social barriers and improving education around migration.
To find out more information and join the project, visit www.livingdna.com/one-family/research.
