DNA highlights Britain's Viking past

LONDON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- DNA tests show that Viking blood still runs strong through men living in parts of Britain.

Researchers said it appears that up to half of the population in parts of northwest England have Norse origins. A study of 100 men in Merseyside and West Lancashire found that 50 percent of their DNA is linked to Scandinavian ancestry, the University of Nottingham said Friday in a release.

The collaborative study by The University of Nottingham, the University of Leicester and University College London selected volunteers whose surnames were present in the region prior to 1600 to get around issues surrounding population movements that occurred after the Industrial revolution.

Wirral Vikings, led by the Norwegian Viking Ingimund, landed on the northwest coast in 902 AD after they were expelled from Dublin, the report said.