Ancestry and Disease in the Age of Genomic Medicine

Genomic analyses indicate that although humans have a common origin and most genetic variation is shared, there are some differences among groups of humans. Those differences may be harnessed to clinical effect. Human genetic data are accumulating at an ever-increasing pace, and whole genome sequences of individuals from multiple populations are now publicly available. 1 – 3 The growing inventory of human genetic variation is facilitating an understanding of why susceptibility to common diseases varies among individuals and populations. In addition, we are gaining insights that may improve the efficacy and safety of therapeutic drugs. Such knowledge is relevant to fundamental questions about our origins, differences, and similarities. Here, we provide a brief review of the current knowledge of human genetic variation and how it contributes to our understanding of human evolutionary history, group . . .