Genes point to a new identity for Pacific pioneers

Abdominal aortic aneurysms in the New Zealand Maori population

Background

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is believed to be a rare disease in people of non-European descent. Maori, New Zealand's indigenous people, are thought to originate from South East Asia, so their incidence of AAA might also be expected to be low. The aim was to investigate the incidence and phenotypic factors associated with AAA in the New Zealand Maori population.

Methods

A retrospective study was performed using the audit database of the New Zealand Society of Vascular Surgeons. Age-standardized rates of admission and death were calculated for Maori and non-Maori.

Results

Maori comprised 3·9 per cent of the population who had an AAA repaired, similar to the percentage of the Maori population aged over 65 years. However, the death rate from AAA in Maori was 2·4 times the rate in non-Maori. Maori were younger at diagnosis than non-Maori (65·2 versus 71·8 years; P < 0·001), had more emergency procedures (46·6 versus 30·2 per cent; P = 0·018) and a significantly higher proportion of Maori admissions were for a ruptured aneurysm.

Conclusion

Maori had a higher mortality rate from AAA than non-Maori New Zealanders. Although admission rates between Maori and non-Maori were similar, the earlier age of onset and the increased proportion of ruptured aneurysms may indicate that the disease is more severe in Maori.

Rock Chemistry Traces Ancient Traders

Boston—At a meeting of the Materials Research Society here earlier this month, a Malaysian and an American researcher presented a chemical analysis that links volcanic glass at a 6000-year-old archaeological site on Borneo to sources on islands 3500 kilometers to the east. The finding pushes back the earliest dates for long-distance sea trading on the Pacific by 2500 years, to 4000 B.C.

Ancient DNA: using molecular biology to explore the past

Ancient DNA has been discovered in many types of preserved biological material, including bones, mummies, museum skins, insects in amber and plant fossils, and has become an important research tool in disciplines as diverse as archaeology, conservation biology and forensic science. In archaeology, ancient DNA can contribute both to the interpretation of individual sites and to the development of hypotheses about past populations. Site interpretation is aided by DNA-based sex typing of fragmentary human bones, and by the use of genetic techniques to assess the degree of kinship between the remains of different individuals. On a broader scale, population migrations can be traced by studying genetic markers in ancient DNA, as in recent studies of the colonisation of the Pacific islands, while ancient DNA in preserved plant remains can provide information on the development of agriculture.

The genetic affinity of Polynesians: evidence from Y chromosome polymorphisms

Y-linked polymorphisms were studied in a sample of 60 Polynesians, and results were compared with findings from studies on other major population groups. Three previously unreported 49a/TaqI haplotypes were observed, two of which possess a new polymorphic fragment named I2. Frequency data for the 49a/TaqI, XY275, pDP31 and Y Alu polymorphisms indicate that Polynesians have greater affinity to Caucasoids than to African populations. Similar population frequency trends were not observed for the p21A1/TaqI polymorphism, supporting the hypothesis that this polymorphism has arisen more than once.