Are any pharmaceutical or insurance companies involved in the Genographic Project?
No. The Genographic Project is supported by private foundations in conjunction with National Geographic and IBM, the project’s lead partner. Is the Genographic Project bio-prospecting? No. the Genographic Project research centers will release the resulting genetic data (on an anonymous and aggregate basis) into the public domain to promote further research. The genetic data will be treated as discoveries, rather than inventions, and will not be patented. Is the Genographic Project linked to any medical research? No. The samples collected from the indigenous groups as well as the samples submitted by the general public via the Public Participation Kits will be analyzed for historical and anthropological data. From the Beeb: “There are still many questions we haven’t answered. Was there any interbreeding with Neanderthals as modern humans moved into Europe? Did any of the migrations to the Americas come across the Pacific – or even the Atlantic?” These and other unanswered questions form
