Speakers Spencer Wells: Genographer
Spencer Wells studies human diversity -- the process by which humanity, which springs from a single common source, has become so astonishingly diverse and widespread.
Why you should listen to him:
By analyzing DNA from people in all regions of the world, Spencer Wells has concluded that all humans alive today are descended
from a single man who lived in Africa around 60,000 to 90,000 years ago. Now, Wells is working on the follow-up question: How did this man, sometimes called "Ychromosomal Adam," become the multicultural, globe-spanning body of life known as humanity?
Wells was recently named project director of the National Geographic Society's multiyear Genographic Project, which uses DNA samples to trace human migration out of Africa. In his 2002 book The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, he shows how genetic data can trace human migrations over the past 50,000 years, as our ancestors wandered out of Africa to fill up the continents of the globe.
Quotes by Spencer Wells
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“DNA ties us all together; we share ancestry with barracuda and bacteria and mushrooms, if you go far enough back.”
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“Every piece of DNA we look at has greater diversity within Africa than outside of Africa.”
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Spencer Wells builds a family tree for humanity
- 20:53 Posted: Aug 2008
Spencer Wells on the Web
Related Speakers
Conferences
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- TEDGlobal 2007