Southern Europeans have North African genes
(Phys.org) —Southern Europeans are more genetically diverse than Northern Europeans. Geneticists have several different explanations for this phenomenon, one of which is migration from Africa to southern Europe. However, previous studies, which have relied on samples from sub-Saharan populations, have not revealed much shared ancestry between Africans and Europeans. Recognizing that there are many genetic differences between Northern and sub-Saharan Africans, Carlos Bustamante of Stanford University and his colleagues performed a DNA analysis that included North African populations. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows high levels of shared ancestry between Southern Europeans and North Africans.