🧬 The story told by Brazilian DNA

Findings from a new genomic study contain important lessons about Brazil’s past and could have important ramifications for science going forward

Author

Gustavo Ribeiro
May 25, 2025

HERITAGE

Everyone knew Brazil was racially diverse; a new study took that to a new level

A decade ago, photographer Angélica Dass shot volunteers of different skin tones, and matched a square of 11 pixels from their noses to a corresponding shade in the industrial palette Pantone to expose – and subvert – racial prejudices. Photo: CNI

A decade ago, photographer Angélica Dass shot volunteers of different skin tones, and matched a square of 11 pixels from their noses to a corresponding shade in the industrial palette Pantone to expose – and subvert – racial prejudices. Photo: CNI

In 2020, the newsroom of The Brazilian Report ran a modest experiment: we all took a DNA test. As a team covering a country as multifaceted as Brazil, we thought we’d see that diversity reflected in our genes.

Instead, what came back told us something more unsettling — and more profound. 

While our team is almost entirely Brazilian, our ancestry skewed overwhelmingly European. Our social condition can explain that: we are college-educated and multilingual, which are often class determinants. Four people who were in the team then remain with us:

I am 82% European; Lucas Berti, our Latin America reporter, clocked in at 91%. Meanwhile, my French co-founder Laura Quirin and Scottish deputy editor Euan Marshall were 100% European. Lucas and I only had 3% and 4% indigenous ancestry, respectively.

In light of new findings published in Science last week, our DNA results feel like a microcosm of Brazil’s enduring inequities.

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