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Human genome sequences from 50 ethnolinguistic groups across more than a dozen African countries reveal insights that studies focused mainly on Europeans are unable to capture.
Often scientists will include some African genomes to supplement their large European sample sizes for studies of human genetics, particularly in the context of disease, but the new research, presented this week (October 15) at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), shows how “woefully inadequate” this approach is, Baylor College of Medicine genomicist Neil Hanchard, who led one of the studies, tells STAT. “There is so much genetic diversity across the African continent, if you sample from just one or two ethnolinguistic groups you know something about one or two groups.”
Lack of ethnic diversity in global genome databases has long been a source of discussion in the scientific community. Africans in particular are underrepresented ...
