Tag Archive for DNA

Descendants of Bronze Age Canaanites from the Levant are not ‘Palestinian’

 

Contrary to arbitrary declarations from Palestinian leaders who claim Canaanite ancestry, a proper DNA report solves the mystery of the Canaanites, revealing the biblical people’s fate.

By Ben Guarino

 

In the Bronze Age, between 4,000 and 3,000 years ago, a diverse group of people called the Canaanites lived in the Middle East. Despite their culture and influence — one of the only golden calf idols discovered was found in the Canaan seaport of Ashqelon — they left behind little information about themselves. Other civilizations made records of them, such as the Greeks, Egyptians and the authors of the Hebrew Bible. Continue Reading »

Breakthrough discovery in autism made by Israeli researchers

Dr. Idan Menashe from Ben-Gurion University: Now that we’ve found that the genomic length of autism-related genes is unusually long in relation to other genes manifested in the brain, we estimate that within 5 years, it will be possible to test for autism prior to pregnancy.

Gadi Golan and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev have made a significant breakthrough in a unique study to better understand autism, discovering a particular evolutionary signature in autism genes. The breakthrough brings doctors one step closer to understanding the genetic mechanism for the disorder, and being able to diagnose it prior to birth. Continue Reading »

Do you have Jewish roots? – New ‘home’ genetics kits could identify Jewish past

New home genetic tests kit could deliver answers for those who feel an affinity for Jews and closeness to Israel.

 

Millions of people around the world may discover Jewish roots with the increasing availability of home genetics tests and concurrent growth in popularity of genealogical websites, according to a Jerusalem think tank.

Ethiopian Jews

Uri Perednik poses with Ethiopian Jews in Addis Ababa. – Photo: Courtesy

The Jewish People Policy Institute, an independent body founded by the Jewish Agency in 2002, focused on Jewish continuity that conducted research regarding this issue, announced on Wednesday that earlier this summer it had recommended to the government, as well as Diaspora communities that they work to connect with people discovering that they have Jewish ties. Continue Reading »

Want to know how Ashkenazi you are? It’s easy to find out.

A growing number of non-Jews are seeking to discover if their ancestors were Jewish.  Jews for Jesus & other gentiles who observe some Jewish practices are eager to uncover Ashkenazi DNA in their chromosomes. For some it gives them credibility in their proselytizing efforts.

Catherine Afarian calls herself a “love child of the ‘70s.” Her mother discovered that she was pregnant after she had broken off a relationship of less than a year. Afarian has never met her biological father, but her mother always said he came from a big Italian family, and Afarian got a kick out of Italian colleagues telling her she looked just like a “Roman girl.” Continue Reading »

Israeli Technology Promises to Create Composite Portraits from Forensic DNA Samples

Researchers promise that within a year, they will be able to use a DNA sample to create a composite portrait of any criminal suspect, establishing reliable facial and detailed body-structure characteristics.

By Adi Hashmonai from Maariv

 

 

Police investigators hunting criminals tend to search for the perpetrator’s DNA sample at the crime scene, or for an eyewitness to help piece together a composite portrait. But breakthrough research presently underway at the Tel-Hai Academic College is meant to spur a revolution in the field by combining the two methods: within a year or so, researchers say that genetic samples will be able to indicate the offender’s facial and body structures.

Continue Reading »

Israeli researchers: Group of Colorado Indians have common Jewish ancestor

Sheba Medical Center geneticists find common genetic mutation, often called the ‘Ashkenazi mutation.’

Sheba Medical Center geneticists have found that a population of Indians in the U.S. state of Colorado has genetic Jewish roots going back to the expulsion of Jews from Spain.

 

Indian tribes - Reuters - May 30, 2012

Indian tribes meeting in Denver, Colorado. Some Indians from the state have a unique genetic mutation usually found among Ashkenazi Jews - Photo by Reuters

The common marker was a unique genetic mutation on the BRCA1 gene. This mutation, commonly known as the “Ashkenazi mutation,” is found in Jews of Ashkenazi origin and is associated with an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Continue Reading »