Europeans are largely descended from immigrant farmers from West Asia, new research indicates. Scientists analysed genetic data from a wide range of Europeans and estimated the contribution of West Asian genes. They looked for rare Y chromosome gene mutations called Unique Event Polymorphisms (UEPS) which are not thought to have occurred more than once in recent human history. The presence of UEPS in different populations is likely to indicate common ancestry rather than recurrent changes in gene structure.Lounes Chikhi from University College London and colleagues estimated that West Asian farmers contributed about half of the genes to modern European populations. The new findings, reported in the journal proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, indicate modern Europeans have far more West Asian ancestry than was previously assumed.
