DNA Test Can Detect Picts' Descendants

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 8-14-2006 | Auslan Cramb

[aruanan]

The test, expected to cost about £130, checks a sample of saliva against 27 genetic markers linked to some of the earliest inhabitants of Scotland.

And, as someone who has done genotyping, I can tell you that the actual cost to run the reaction is about $21 (3 runs multiplexing 9 markers each run), the primers would be pennies for each marker since their lab will have synthesized a gigantic load of the relevant primers, the cost of running the original reactions on the pcr machines is negligible, and the labor for prepping the reaction and interpreting the results would be for about an hour at $20/hour.

[sphinx]

Vikings were technologically more advanced than mainland Europeans. That's how they dominated them in war

Man for man, a Viking military force was no more effective in actual battle than the European warrior bands of the day. The Vikings' military advantage was mobility and surprise, due to the longship and the fact that they were (at least initially) raiders who could pick their targets. Their poorly organized victims were unable to provide adequate point defense against an enemy who could strike anywhere while drifting away from serious resistance.

The Vikings' great weakness was their own political fragmentation. On the few occasions when a Viking king was able to put together a broad enough pirate alliance, Viking invasion forces were certainly capable of going toe-to-toe with serious European armies (as opposed to local levies called out to oppose raids), but their success was quite mixed.

[blam]

National Geographic/IBM does 12 markers for $107.50.

[SunkenCiv]

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic ·
	Gods Graves Glyphs	Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are Blam, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
· Google · Archaeologica · ArchaeoBlog · Archaeology magazine · Biblical Archaeology Society · · Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·

[Verginius Rufus]

When I was in Scotland I bought a postcard that showed a traditional Scottish pastime: looking for lost coins in the heather.

When the farthing ceased to be legal tender in the UK, there was a cartoon showing a Scot with a huge sack full of farthings bringing it to be cashed in just before the deadline.