Look Who it Was Random video

Meet Your Personal Zoo Cousin Via 5 Magic Genes | Nathaniel Pearson | TEDxBeaconStreetSalon

884 views · Published 14 August 2018 · 10:01 · Indexed 28 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2018 · Nonprofits & Activism

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Our HLA in Chromosome 6 is a gene complex that helps us sense the world within us, and strongly shapes our health and genomes. There are incredible variations across HLA in humans that make it hard for us to match with each other. HLA goes 40 million years deep. As a result, all of us are more closely related to some gorillas than some people, or even than some relatives. We are more closely tied into the animal kingdom than we may think! Nathan Pearson is a Senior Director of Scientific Engagement & Public Outreach at NY Genome Center, where he and his colleagues build simple, engaging tools that compare one whole human genome to the next, in order to cast new light on human health and history. Fascinated by human genetic diversity since working as a young student in the laboratory of Luca Cavalli-Sforza (Stanford University), he traveled with Spencer Wells (now head of the Genographic Project) to collect DNA from people living throughout Eurasia, to reveal traces of ancient migrations recorded in their genomes. In doctoral work at the University of Chicago, he studied patterns of sequence variation on the great ape sex chromosomes, spotlighting how mutation, recombination, and natural selection have jointly made the X and Y ever more different from each other. Today, working with a talented team of scientists and programmers, he helps researchers and consumers sift through the billions of letters in each human genome.

Nathan Pearson is a Senior Director of Scientific Engagement & Public Outreach at NY Genome Center, where he and his colleagues build simple, engaging tools that compare one whole human genome to the next, in order to cast new light on human health and history. Fascinated by human genetic diversity since working as a young student in the laboratory of Luca Cavalli-Sforza (Stanford University), he traveled with Spencer Wells (now head of the Genographic Project) to collect DNA from people living throughout Eurasia, to reveal traces of ancient migrations recorded in their genomes. In doctoral work at the University of Chicago, he studied patterns of sequence variation on the great ape sex chromosomes, spotlighting how mutation, recombination, and natural selection have jointly made the X and Y ever more different from each other. Today, working with a talented team of scientists and programmers, he helps researchers and consumers sift through the billions of letters in each human genome. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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