View source for Southerton (2008/2014): "It's true that if a small group (say 10 people) entered a massive population (say 1 million), that it would be hard to detect their mitochondrial or Y chromosome DNA"

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==Southerton (2008/2014): "It's true that if a small group (say 10 people) entered a massive population (say 1 million), that it would be hard to detect their mitochondrial or Y chromosome DNA"==

Dr. Simon Southerton is one of the most outspoken critics of the Church with regard to DNA and the Book of Mormon:
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(2008) In case anyone from FAIR is unclear I will repeat what I wrote four years ago…“IF A SMALL GROUP OF ISRAELITES ENTERED SUCH A MASSIVE NATIVE POPULATION (SEVERAL MILLIONS) IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY HARD TO DETECT THEIR GENES.” Now that FAIR has finally conceded that American Indian DNA is essentially all derived from Asia, I also agree with them that the debate should be about the theology. <ref>Simon Southerton, "Finally, I agree with LDS scientists-apologists," posting to an ex-Mormon discussion board, Sept. 6, 2008. {{eo}}</ref>
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(2014) I made the original statement at a time when whole genome sequence analysis was a long way off. It's true that if a small group (say 10 people) entered a massive population (say 1 million), that it would be hard to detect their mitochondrial or Y chromosome DNA. Your odds would be roughly 1 in 100,000 (10 in 1 Million). But technology has moved very rapidly and whole genome studies are now almost routine. So, my original statement is no longer true. <ref>Simon Southerton, explaining his 2008 statement to FAIR, February 2014. Cited in updated ''Letter to a CES Director'' (2014).</ref>
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Dr. Southerton is confused if he thinks FairMormon experts on DNA have ever questioned that a considerable portion of Amerindian DNA comes from Asia. They do not have to "concede" anything--they have always held this view. However, Dr. Southerton is mistaken if he believes that "American Indian DNA is essentially all derived from Asia":

:a 2013 study states that as much as one-third of Native American DNA originated anciently in Europe or West Asia and was likely introduced into the gene pool before the earliest migration to the Americas.<ref>{{Template:Article:Church:Gospel Topics:DNA}} The paper cited is Maanasa Raghavan et al., “[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v505/n7481/full/nature12736.html Upper Palaeolithic Siberian Genome Reveals Dual Ancestry of Native Americans],” ''Nature'' 505 (20 November 2013): 87–91.</ref>
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[[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]
[[Category:John Dehlin's "Questions and Answers"]]

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[[es:Fuente:Southerton:2008-2014:si un grupo pequeño ... entró una población masiva ... sería difícil de detectar su ADN cromosoma mitocondrial o Y]]
[[pt:Fonte:Southerton:2008-2014:se um pequeno grupo ... entrou em uma população enorme ... seria difícil de detectar o DNA mitocondrial ou cromossoma Y]]