The New York Times > Science > By Accident, Utah Is Proving an Ideal Genetic Laboratory (registration required): "SALT LAKE CITY- Utah is justly famous for its big families, with cousins piled on cousins, uncles from here to Tuesday, and roots stretching back to the Mormon pioneer days. And what once appeared to be a regional quirk is increasingly viewed by scientists as something more: a near-perfect laboratory, arrived at by complete accident, for the study of human kinship.
Mormon genes are hot.
Utah DNA is being used for an international study that seeks to identify chromosomes linked to diseases like asthma and diabetes. Other researchers are studying how the genes for left-handedness or longevity or even the ability to taste bitter foods have moved through the Utah gene pool over time. A nonprofit foundation here is compiling a giant genetic database that will try to pinpoint - after a quick swab of a person's cheek for a DNA sample - where the person's ancestors came from."
All being told, I am afraid of BYU becoming the next craddle of American civilization. Can you imagine bigots and fascists roaming the Earth claiming they are of superior race and unjustifiably commit genocide and mass murders?!?! Wait, that's happening already even without DNA evidence. Oh well; no news then.