Half of European men share King Tut's DNA

[n2doc]

By Alice Baghdjian

LONDON (Reuters) - Up to 70 percent of British men and half of all Western European men are related to the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, geneticists in Switzerland said.

Scientists at Zurich-based DNA genealogy centre, iGENEA, reconstructed the DNA profile of the boy Pharaoh, who ascended the throne at the age of nine, his father Akhenaten and grandfather Amenhotep III, based on a film that was made for the Discovery Channel.

The results showed that King Tut belonged to a genetic profile group, known as haplogroup R1b1a2, to which more than 50 percent of all men in Western Europe belong, indicating that they share a common ancestor.

Among modern-day Egyptians this haplogroup contingent is below 1 percent, according to iGENEA.


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http://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE7704OR20110801

[Kali]

1. I love this stuff

we are finding out so many interesting connections between people - indeed all of life

this work is so fascinating

[sarge43]

7. Have you read The Seven Daughters of Eve?

If not, highly recommended.

[zazen]

2. wonder what "King Tut" lyrics Steve Martin would write today

[ZombieHorde]

3. No wonder Europeans are always building massive pyramids.

That's a joke. Recommended.

[Dover]

4. Hence the saying in England, "Tut-tut cherio, old man!"....n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. Well, that explains why I'm fat.

[Ikonoklast]

8. Uh, no. You can't blame that on cheesy Batman bad guys.

Here's the reason you may be a tad on the hefty side:



Hmmmm, speaking of 'cheesy'...



A few liquid calories to wash down the goodness:







And if you're good, you get to have a nice donut for dessert, but only one:












Crap, now I'm hungry.

[tblue37]

6. Some years ago _Harper's Magazine_ mentioned that there was a

1 in 200 chance that a man alive today is a direct descendant of Ghengis Khan. I assume that the odds are even better if that man is from Asia--or descended directly from someone who came originally from Asia. But still, 1/200 is pretty surprising!