Europe: An Unexpectedly Close-Knit Continent

In research conducted by scientists in California, it was found that Europeans

are more genetically similar to one another than was previously thought. Using

genetic information obtained from 2,257 people across Europe, scientists Peter

Ralph and Graham Coop were able to ascertain that even people as far apart as

UK and Turkey share genetic similarities. This can be traced back to a group of

ancestors that many Europeans share. These ancestors came to the continent 6,500

years ago, which is earlier than previously thought. It is through these shared

ancestors in the not-so-distant past that Europeans across the continent are connected,

and considered “one big family.” This finding, however, is said by researchers to

not mean much in terms of peace between groups. For example, if anti semitic white

supremacists from one country find that they are related to Ashkenazi Jewish people,

it is unlikely that these Anti Semitic people will change their ways just because they

discover that they are related to Ashkenazi Jewish people.



















Although the findings of this research would prove to be surprising to some,

I personally am not surprised by these findings. I’ve heard the theory before

that everyone on Earth is related to everyone through five points of connection,

whether it’s through a friend’s family member, or a friend’s friend’s friend. I have

also heard that many people are the descendents of the Islamic prophet, Muhammed,

including the current queen of England. I have a friend who is a descendent of the

prophet Muhammed, and this would mean that he is related to the queen of England.

If my friend and the queen of England are so close in relation, I find it easy to believe

that the people of Europe are related to one another, and I find it understandable that

although these people are related, bad blood will likely not disappear. Bad relations

between family are easy to come by, after all.

DNA Proves King Richard III has Finally Been Unearthed

According to the New York Times, DNA results have finally come back to prove that the remains found beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England are indeed those of the lost King Richard III.

On August 22nd 1485, King Richard III's death on the battlefield finally put to end the War of the Roses--a civil war that violently tore apart England for generations.  Richard came to the throne shortly before his death, following the disappearances of his two young nephews, who were next in line to the throne after his older brother's death.  Because Richard was one of the main suspects in the children's disappearances, he was a very reviled king with a bad reputation.  This could be one of the reasons he was buried so quickly on the battlefield and left in an unmarked grave with no recognition showing that he once ruled over the country.  For almost 500 years, the whereabouts of King Richard III's body were unknown.

His shallow grave was found underneath a parking lot back in September and the bones were put through rigorous DNA testing by very anxious scholars.  The team's leading geneticist was able to take DNA samples from two modern-day descendants of Richard III and compare them to the DNA found in Richard's remains.  The extremely rare mitochondrial DNA that is carried by only 1 to 2 percent of the English population matched the remains found in the shallow grave.  Scholars believe that unearthing the remains of King Richard III gives him not only the respect of a proper burial, but also puts his story to light and gives scholars the opportunity to clear the name of a man who was vilified by his Tudor successors.