People of the British Isles Project Summary

As reported here last month a paper has appeared in Nature with detailed results of the People of the British Isles project. Aside from being behind a paywall it's written for an academic readership.

Now a good summary prepared for the volunteers who gave DNA samples is at
 http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/field/field_document/POBInewsletter06_March2015.pdf. It's written at a grade 9 level and so very readable even for the interested layman. Recommended. That simplification is quite an achievement in itself.

Two of the findings that struck me were:

• Danish Vikings, in spite of their major influence through the “Danelaw’ and many place names of Danish origin, contributed little of their DNA to the English population.
• a previously not described substantial migration across the channel (from Northern France)  after the original post-ice-age settlers but before Roman times. DNA from these migrants spread across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, but had little, if any, impact on Wales.

The article also mentions that initial findings of a related project on the genetics of variation in facial features is expected to be published this summer.