Spencer Wells on the Daily Show

In June, renowned geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells appeared on the Daily Show.  Dr. Wells was there to plug his new book, Pandora's Seed.  In it, he explores the unintended consequences of civilization and how we have come very close to our species' carrying capacity.  Soon, the human population will reach 9 billion people and we will have to adjust some way to ensure survival.

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Spencer Wells
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I have followed Spencer Wells since he began The Human Genographic Project studying the movement of our genes throughout the world.  Working with the National Geographic Society, Dr. Wells has traveled the world collecting blood and saliva samples from various populations.  His team compares the DNA of different tribes in Africa, the South Pacific, and elsewhere to see how they are related to each other.  The result of the project shows us how we are all cousins to each other and provides a view of the mass migrations people have made since the dawn of mankind.  His other two books, The Journey of Man and Deep Ancestry, describe his work and how it has affected our understanding of humanity.


You can also join the Human Genographic Project by ordering kit to collect your saliva and send it back to them.  They can tell you much more about your ancestry.  If you are male, they can tell you the journey that your Y-chromosome has traveled for the last 200,000 years.  Sounds like an amazing Father's Day present!  The money that they collect goes to furthering the collection of samples and a scholarship fund to help save some of the disappearing cultures throughout the world.  Dr. Well's spoke about his project in an interesting TED Talk, which you will find below: