New Delhi, December 12, 2009 : Indians are the ancestors of Chinese and many of those in other East Asian countries. This is revealed by a study Mapping Human Genetic History in Asia, conducted by ten Asian countries, which said that the human population originally came from Africa nearly a hundred thousand years ago to India from where it went to China and other Asian countries.

The findings also nullify theories that a wave of human population directly went to the East Asian countries.

Majority of these South-East Asian populations have ancestors in south India (where the first wave of human population came from Africa), CSIR Director General Samir Brahmachari told reporters here.

The study also assumes significance as it opens up the scope for single-point clinical trial for drugs for major pandemics including flu, which can be applicable to rest of the people in the region, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chauhan said.

This research is also significant for understanding migratory pattern of human history and furthering the research in medicine. It has great potential for collaboration with these countries in finding treatment to many diseases like flu, AIDS and other pandemics, Brahmachari said.

Studied by 90 scientists from the Human Genome Organisation's (HUGO's), the research on Southeast Asian (SEA) and East Asian (EA) populations of 1,928 unrelated individuals represented 73 populations from 10 countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.