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DNA project faces hurdle in Alaska

SOUTH NAKNEK, Alaska, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A National Geographic Society research project to collect DNA samples from indigenous groups around the world has come to a standstill in Alaska.

The goal of the multimillion dollar project is to reconstruct humanity's ancient migrations through DNA research, The New York Times reported.

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Officials in Alaska are asking if the results of such research could ultimately threaten some present-day donors. Some are reportedly afraid that results from the Genographic Project, as it is called, could clash with long-held beliefs about origin.

"What if it turns out you're really Siberian and then, oops, your health care is gone?" said Dr. David Barrett, a co-chairman of the Alaska Area Institutional Review Board. "Did anyone explain that to them?"

While some argue that the Genographic Project is another tool for the government to chip away at certain benefits, researchers with the project insist it is important to know how, through the thousands of years, humans came to be inhabit every part of the world.

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