Abstract
The whole genome sequencing projects have been planned and already carried out for more than 100 species. Regarding primates, the whole (draft) genome sequencing for three species—human, chimpanzee, and macaque—have been published recently. The accumulation of the whole genome data for representative species makes it much easier to compare genome regions between the other species that the whole genome sequencings haven’t been done. The study on genome-wide diversity within species also has best progressed in humans: the international HapMap project provides more than one million SNPs from African, European, and East Asian. The databases are fully equipped, and the whole genome sequence data from various species and the HapMap data from human populations are accessible easily via internet. The great expand of genomic science could bring (and already have brought) about a revolution in academism, industry, and ideology regarding “humans” and “human beings.” From an industrial point of view, development of more efficient sequencing and typing of genomes has been the main focus of interest. But, scientists should always be more conscious about accuracy of genome data and strictness of the interpretations using them. In this context, anthropology must play an important role in human genome sciences. Here I review recent genome sciences, and discuss the “connection” between genome sciences and anthropology.
