30 May 2008

Who can resist...

A good DNA story?
A 3,000-year-old clump of human hair found frozen in Greenland may have solved a scientific mystery: Where did all the ancient Eskimos come from?

And the hair yielded something extremely rare — the DNA of some of the earliest humans to live in the Arctic.
**********

RELATED: And then, of course, there's Egypt
Dr. Hawass, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, long refused to allow DNA testing on Egyptian mummies but accepted it recently on condition that it be done only by Egyptian experts.

He has never disclosed full results of the examinations, sometimes on grounds of national security.

Though Dr. Hawass has never explained the reasons for this, apparently there is concern that the tests could cast doubt on the Egyptian lineage of the mummies.
Which is as perfect a metaphor for the Arab Middle East as you'll likely ever encounter.

Good grief.

*