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03/02/2008: "Genetics tests track racial ancestry"

DNA analysis has given back to Sullivan and other blacks around the country what the Middle Passage and slavery took from them: information about their African ancestors.

In a recent phone interview, Gates described the series as "Roots for the 21st Century." He said it will change the country's perspective of the American black experience and race itself, especially since testing has shown that 35 percent of African- Americans' paternal lines are traced to a white male and 68 percent of black Americans have at least 12.5 percent European ancestry.

African Ancestry Inc., the leading black-owned DNA testing company, conducted the DNA analysis for the PBS series and local residents.

[ Genetics determines physical traits including appearance and abilities, and we can track ancestry through the centuries using it. ]

http://www.buffalonews.com/185/story/269713.html