Scottish DNA Unexpectedly Diverse

Geography might explain the treasure trove of genetic diversity among Scots.

Written byBob Grant

| 1 min read

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, © JAMES F. PERRY

Scotland contains an unexpected amount of human genetic diversity, according to a new study of the country's inhabitants. The project, called "Scotland's DNA," found 150 different genetic lines of female ancestry from Europe, Asia, and Africa and 100 different groups of male ancestry from Europe and beyond. For example, more than one percent of Scottish men are direct descendants of the Saharan Berber and Tuareg tribes, which belong to a lineage that researchers have determined to be about 5,600 years old.

Edinburgh University geneticist Jim Wilson and St Andrews University historian Alistair Moffat probed the DNA of nearly 1,000 Scots to uncover the surprising results, a possible explanation for which could be the country’s location. "Perhaps geography, Scotland's place at the farthest northwestern end of ...

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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