Personal genomics gives rise to predictive medicine

By Ira Zunin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 03, 2012

~~<p>During a recent trip to New Zealand, I had the opportunity to interact with the indigenous Maori culture. The people call their country Aotearoa. For the Maori, tribal structure and lands are still determined today by which ancestors were aboard each canoe when Aotearoa was first settled by Polynesians more than a thousand years ago. According to one Maori friend, "Even after 28 generations it defines who I am."</p>
<p>Until relatively recently, to learn about our ancestors we were dependent on an unbroken oral tradition or, when available, written records. For more remote history, we would have to rely on archaeology.</p>
~~

During a recent trip to New Zealand, I had the opportunity to interact with the indigenous Maori culture. The people call their country Aotearoa. For the Maori, tribal structure and lands are still determined today by which ancestors were aboard each canoe when Aotearoa was first settled by Polynesians more than a thousand years ago. According to one Maori friend, "Even after 28 generations it defines who I am."

Until relatively recently, to learn about our ancestors we were dependent on an unbroken oral tradition or, when available, written records. For more remote history, we would have to rely on archaeology. Login for more...